Businesses
IANS Interview: PM Modi wants India to become a 'developed society' by 2047, says Niti Aayog Vice Chairman
United Nations, July 17 (IANS) Suman Bery, the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog which is tasked with guiding policies for achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visions for India, has spoken exclusively with the IANS UN bureau in New York.
Following the release of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report that reiterated India’s position as the world’s fastest-growing economy, Bery discussed strategies for growing the nation into a developed society by 2047, working with the private sector, the role of agriculture, development of states, and lessons for the Global South from India’s experience.
Bery combines the experience of working with the private sector, as the chief economist of Royal Dutch Shell, with think-tanks as a scholar, and with the World Bank as an economist.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
IANS: You just spoke at an international meeting, the high-level political forum on sustainable development where countries from around the world took up vital topics. What are the takeaways from the Indian model for other Global South countries?
Bery: India has its own challenges. And I think one reason for India’s success is that it has mechanisms to come up with its own solutions. With Prime Minister Modi at the helm for 10 years and now having been selected for another five years, I think there are certain lessons to be drawn.
First, I would talk about the economic mandate. When the last Parliament was being dissolved, the government came out with a white paper that talked about the situation they inherited: India as a part of the so-called ‘Fragile Five’. Now it is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. A lot of that has to do with sheer economic management, making sure that the inflation rate is down, good administration, and the GST (Goods and Services Tax).
So, there are certain basics, which, I think, India’s experience confirms are important.
But I do feel that [in] India’s case, the emphasis even at the time of Covid and after it on infrastructure has been quite important… Important for employment and productivity, and also for connectivity.
And finally, the digital story is fairly well recognised. What India’s digital success points out is actually the link between intelligent policy and a fairly dynamic private sector, a successful model of public-private partnership.
IANS: You mentioned the private sector. There has been a big change in India’s planning model, from the old commission to the NITI Ayaog where policies emphasise broader participation of the private sector with an important role in the nation’s development. How do you see that working out, and the response?
Bery: I think there are two or three separate issues. One is that after the liberalisation of 1991, the private sector was meant to play a much larger role. [But] it took 30 years and the arrival of a new government to recognise the reality.
I would say that we have not made as much progress as we might have. In going from development being a question of government schemes to development being seen as a question of appropriate policies, I think what we have to do now is trust our policies more, and have more stable policies.
Having said that, I do want to come back to what I said about digital public infrastructure because what that points out is the importance of intelligent regulation. There are two dimensions to how the government and therefore the Niti Aayog interacts with the private sector.
One is through policies, and the other is through regulation. In both of these, I think India has made a promising start, but to become a developed economy by 2047, much more needs to happen.
IANS: How do you see the role of states in India’s development? How to level the disparities between states? ‘Competitive Federalism’ is seen as having a role…
Bery: We no longer exercise financial powers, but we work just as much with the states as we used to. A very important part of what NITI Aayog is doing is working with the states because, as the Prime Minister observes, it’s only when the states grow that India grows.
His counsel to me when I took on the job was that my role was as much with the states as with the Central government.
See, it is ‘Cooperative and Competitive Federalism’ and NITI Aayog tries to operate on both of these.
I think it’s important to note that each Indian state is like a ‘mini-country’. In many ways, there are legacy problems that will take time to resolve, but I was quite encouraged to see that when we put out our multi-dimensional poverty index, some of the poorer states did better than some of the richer states.
The obvious reason is that it is in many ways easier to make progress at the beginning of the process than later on.
I think there’s no magic bullet to [tackle] this, but I feel the most important tool of the government system, not necessarily administered by itself, is the Finance Commission.
The 16th Finance Commission has just been appointed and in its financial award, it takes account of the distance of states from the national level. And that to me is the most powerful tool.
Having said that, I think the question of whether the right unit of measurement should be the state or the individual is something that India needs to think harder about. As long as individuals are living better lives, that’s what really matters.
IANS: The Prime Minister has set a goal of making India a developed economy by 2047. What is your broad strategy for achieving that goal?
Bery: The Prime Minister has made it very clear that the strategies have to be local. All of his emphases, including the abolition of the planning commission, are meant to ensure that this should not be top-down.
The Prime Minister has set out a vision for India to be a developed society, not economy, by 2047.
But India is too large and diverse for there to be a national economic strategy. I’ve already mentioned one element of it, which is maintaining financial stability. I think what is more important is that India must retain its independence of action, what is sometimes called strategic autonomy.
What is clear is that India has already harnessed technology, and digital technology successfully. The digital revolution is gathering speed. It is important for India to be technology-friendly.
Second, the next 20 years – India’s ‘Amrit Kaal’ – is the period of India’s so-called demographic dividend, and, therefore, any strategy has to be about getting the most out of India’s human resources, women, and youth, in particular.
How you get there has to be decided by individual states. But the focus needs to be on better livelihoods, and, frankly, the parents of this generation should have confidence that their children will live better lives than they did.
The Prime Minister seeks inputs from the states, the NITI Aayog works with states on their invitation to think about what their game plan would be for 2047. But, I think India is too large and too diverse for there to be an industrial policy strategy for the entire country.
IANS: What would be your goals for the next five years in concrete terms?
Bery: We’re not in the business of five-year plans. The government’s official view will be revealed in the Union Budget, which is just around the corner [July 23].
I think the President of India [Droupadi Murmu] has already indicated that this will be a landmark Budget. I feel there are certain milestones. Firstly, it is expected that India will become the third-largest economy in the world before the end of this decade. This has certain implications for faster growth rates.
Second, the focus on capital investment will continue.
Third, we have made commitments to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change about the direction of our energy transition [away from fossil fuels].
So all of these are inputs into the perspective that the Budget gives us, but I would pay particular attention to the energy intensity commitments under the nationally determined contributions.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the agriculture sector gets a lot of attention. We’ve given attention to infrastructure. We’ve given attention to digital economy. The Prime Minister certainly believes that the startup culture has a lot of potential.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
–IANS
al/arm
Investors’ wealth eroded by a massive Rs 9.19 lakh crore on Tuesday as markets came under heavy sell-off with the BSE benchmark index Sensex falling 930.55 points.
Extending its previous day’s decline, the BSE Sensex plummeted 930.55 points or 1.15 per cent to settle at 80,220.72. During the day, it tanked 1,001.74 points or 1.23 per cent to 80,149.53.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms eroded by Rs 9,19,374.52 crore to Rs 4,44,45,649.22 crore (USD 5.29 trillion). “There has been no respite from FIIs selling in local equities in the current month so far, which has been creating uncertainty among domestic investors.
Also, foreign investors are fleeing Indian equities to invest in relatively cheaper locations such as China, especially after the stimulus announcement by its government to boost its slowing economy.
“Along with sectoral stocks, mid and smallcap stocks too bore the brunt as persistent buying had led to valuations in several stocks getting expensive and hence the breather,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
From the 30 Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Power Grid, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and Reliance were among the biggest laggards. In contrast, ICICI Bank, Nestle and Infosys were the gainers from the pack.
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) The NITI Aayog in its presentation to the Maharashtra government on Thursday suggested a roadmap for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to become a $300 billion economy by 2030 from the present $140 billion.
NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam during his meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, suggested that the state can achieve this ambitious target with the promotion of MMR as global services’ hub, affordable housing and slum rehabilitation, tourism, port-proximate integrated manufacturing and logistics hub, planned urbanisation and intensive transport oriented development, sustainability projects and world-class urban infrastructure and transport.
NITI Aayog has said that the state government can attract a private investment of $125-135 billion, incremental GDP growth of $130-150 billion and additional capital by the state government of the order of Rs 50,000 crore over 5-6 years to chase the goal of making MMR a $300 billion economy.
“MMR is a $140 billion economy across 5 districts and covering 9 municipal corporations with a 25.8 million population and 10 million jobs. Good news is that MMR is on a positive growth trajectory on the back of $50 billion ongoing infrastructure investments. Our vision is to grow MMR into a $300 billion economy by 2030 and $1.5 trillion economy by 2047,” said Subrahmanyam in the presentation.
According to NITI Aayog, MMR has a potential to become a global services hub due to the existing two world-class business districts, Wadala and BKC for financial services and after the development of Navi Mumbai Aerocity as a global aviation city.
It has suggested that the rehabilitation of 2.2 million slums will create new housing stocks in addition to around 1 million affordable housing for low income and middle income group segments.
NITI Aayog has suggested the state can promote two themed tourism development hubs at Gorai and Madh and Alibaug and implement a masterplan for a 300 km coastline.
Further, the MMR can promote port proximate integrated manufacturing and logistic hub with the development of Kharbav integrated logistic cluster as a multi-modal logistic park, circular economy parks and electronic manufacturing and manufacturing cluster for white goods assembly at Khalapur-Panvel section.
In the wake of the development of Rs 76,000 crore Vadhavan port, NITI Aayog has suggested that it can be exploited for the promotion of green hydrogen, steel, chemicals, integrated textiles and apparels.
Further, the NITI Aayog has suggested that the government should release a slew of policies for services, tourism, affordable housing, and transport-oriented development. In addition, the government will have to craft investment promotion and land allocation policy, simplified and enabling urban planning policies, women-inclusivity blueprint and Green MMR policy.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said that the government is focusing on the construction of affordable housing, development of a data center in Navi Mumbai, and completion of Alibaug Multimodal Corridor. Recently, the state government has cleared projects with an investment of Rs 80,000 crore. The government has stepped up efforts to promote tourism along the 720 km coastline.
(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in)
–IANS
sj/pgh
New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Inflationary pressures in the Indian economy eased in July and food inflation is expected to come down further with this year’s better monsoon leading to higher agricultural production, according to the Finance Ministry’s monthly review released on Thursday.
Retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index eased from 5.1 per cent in June 2024 to 3.5 per cent in July 2024, the lowest since September 2019.
This was mainly due to a significant fall in food inflation. It declined to 5.4 per cent in July 2024 from 9.4 per cent in June 2024, the review states.
The substantial fall witnessed in food inflation was helped majorly by a decline in vegetable inflation from 29.3 per cent in June 2024 to 6.8 per cent in July 2024 and mild deflation in ‘oils and fats’ and spices.
On the other hand, core inflation (which excludes food and fuel) was at a moderate level of 3.3 per cent in July 2024.
Overall, the retail inflation rate moderated to 4.6 per cent in the first four months of FY25 as compared to 5.3 per cent in FY24 (April-July), according to the review.
With moderate core inflation and positive progress in the monsoon, the headline inflation outlook is positive. Assuming a normal monsoon, CPI inflation for FY25 is projected at 4.5 per cent by the RBI, with Q2 inflation at 4.4 per cent.
A steady progress in the southwest monsoon has supported agricultural activity. The cumulative southwest monsoon rainfall was 3 per cent higher than the long-period average up to August 19, 2024. Further, the spatial distribution has improved, with 84 per cent of subdivisions receiving normal or excess rainfall. This has enabled healthy Kharif sowing.
As of August 16, the actual sowing area under total foodgrains was 4.8 per cent higher than the corresponding period of the previous year, while progress in cereals and pulses was 4.6 per cent and 5.7 per cent higher than the previous year.
Corresponding to healthy progress in monsoon, availability of water level in reservoirs improving, ensuring water adequacy for irrigation during current Kharif and upcoming rabi crop production. The storage availability in 150 reservoirs as of August 15, was 111 per cent of the corresponding period of last year and 114 per cent of the average storage of the last ten years, according to the Central Water Commission. This augurs well for healthy food production that will aid in cooling food inflation in the upcoming months. Further, to enhance productivity and resilience in the agriculture sector, various measures have been announced in the Union Budget FY25, the Finance Ministry said.
–IANS
sps/vd
New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) The Indian economy experienced a notable upswing across various economic indicators in July 2024, signalling strong and resilient business activities with both the manufacturing and services sectors posting a robust performance, according to the Finance Ministry’s monthly review released on Thursday.
“The month saw impressive milestones being reached, substantial growth in GST collections, and a significant rise in e-way bill generation, which points to an overall increase in economic activity. The stock market indices also reached record highs in July,” the review states.
On balance, India’s economic momentum remains intact. Despite a somewhat erratic monsoon, reservoirs have been replenished. Manufacturing and services sectors are expanding, going by the Purchasing Managers’ indices. Tax collections – especially indirect taxes, which reflect transactions – are growing healthily, and so is bank credit, according to the review.
Inflation is moderating, and exports of both goods and services are doing better than they did last year. Stock markets are holding on to their levels. Foreign direct investment is looking up as gross inflows are rising, the review states.
Gross GST collections for July 2024 maintained their momentum, achieving their second-highest level since May 2023. The total gross GST revenue rose by 10.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY), bringing the total for FY 25 (April to July) to Rs 7.4 lakh crore.
This increase in GST collections also highlights robust compliance and expansion of GST coverage across various economic activities.
The upward level shift is reflected in the average monthly GST collections rising from Rs 1.68 lakh crore in FY24 to Rs 1.85 lakh crore in FY25.
The year-on-year increase in e-way bills reached a nine-month peak of 19.2 per cent with the total number of e-way bills issued in July surging to 10.5 crore, setting a new single-month record.
According to the review, the manufacturing sector has continued to demonstrate robust performance in the first four months of FY25, as evidenced by the strong performance of various high-frequency indicators.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) Manufacturing, a crucial gauge of the economic vitality of the manufacturing sector, stood at 58.1 in July 2024, significantly above the series long-run average and among the highest recorded in recent years. This expansion, driven by buoyant demand conditions and a surge in production volumes, bodes well for the overall health of the economy.
Similarly, the service sector continued to perform well.
PMI services remained in an expansionary zone at 60.3 in July 2024, driven by expansion in international sales, an increase in new order uptakes, and a rise in new export orders.
Despite a rise in wages and material costs which pushed up business expenses, overall sentiment in the services sector remains upbeat, driven, among others, by an upswing in the tourism cum hotel industry induced by leisure travel, business travel, and social events, the Finance Ministry said.
–IANS
sps/pgh
Mumbai, Aug 22 (IANS) Indian stock markets again closed higher on Thursday due to positive sentiment in the markets.
At closing, Sensex was up 147 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 81,053 and Nifty was up 41 points or 0.17 per cent at 24,811.
The market’s positive sentiment was bolstered by optimistic global cues, particularly from the US markets, where the S&P 500 extended its winning streak, reflecting investor confidence amid expectations of potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
During the day, Sensex traded in the range of 80,954 to 81,236 and Nifty traded in the range of 24,784 to 24,867.
In the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Titan, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, JSW Steel, Maruti Suzuki and SBI were the top gainers. Tata Motors, M&M, Wipro, NTPC, TCS, Power Grid, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, and Nestle are the top losers.
Thursday’s market rally was led by Nifty Bank which settled up 300 points or 0.59 per cent at 50,985.
Among the sectoral indices, PSU Bank, fin service, FMCG, metal, realty and Private bank were the major gainers. Pharma, IT and energy were the major laggards.
An upward trend was also seen in small and medium stocks in the trading session. The Nifty midcap 100 index was up 400 points or 0.69 per cent at 58,844 and the Nifty smallcap 100 index was at 19,099, up 32 points or 0.17 per cent.
According to market experts, the domestic market witnessed modest gains owing to positive global sentiments.
“Particularly, the recent signs of weakness in the US non-farm payroll data have strengthened the case for potential interest rate cuts in September. However, in the broader market, investors are being cautious, opting for a selective approach, awaiting more clarity from central bank leaders in Japan and the US,” they added.
–IANS
avs/vd
Defence Ministry: Year 2025 will be year of reforms- A 3.2 magnitude tremor struck Gujarat’s Kutch district on Wednesday morning
- Diljit Dosanjh faces legal action over concert songs
- UP Minister’s convoy overturns, 5 person injured
- Suchir Balaji’s mother alleges Murder
- Rupee weakened by 5 paise to 85.69 against the US dollar
- Huge ammunition and arm seized in Manipur
- Pushpa 2 earns RS 1085 CR in pre-release collection
- BJP opposes Nawab Malik’s candidacy
- Lee Hsien Yang seeks refuge in United Kingdom
-
Video2 years agoPM Modi Attacks Congress in Karnataka with “Kerala Story”
-
Politics2 years ago
Siddaramaiah & DK Shivakumar sworn in as Chief Minister & Deputy CM respectively
-
Cricket2 years ago
CSK players rejoice 5th IPL title with their families (Pics)
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Karan Deol weds his longtime Girlfriend Drisha Acharya (Pics)
-
Sports7 years agoHistory Of Official FIFA WORLD CUP Match balls
-
India2 years ago
Ashwini Vaishnaw: Railway Board recommends CBI probe in the Odisha railway disaster
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Urvashi Rautela dazzles on Cannes 2023 red carpet (Pics)
-
Entertainment2 years ago
Sunny Leone gets ready for Kennedy premiere in Cannes (Pics)
