PM's economic panel suggests incentives to states for achieving results

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) today made a case for incentivising states for achieving results in sectors like health and education, an official statement said.

The EAC-PM, headed by Niti Aayog Member, at its meeting took stock of the prevailing economic situation and spelt out "a clear road map" for stepping up skill development, job creation and enhanced resource investment in the social sector - including for health and education and boosting infrastructure financing.

"It formulated far-reaching recommendations to guide the evolving framework for the Fifteenth Finance Commission, including the incentivisation of states for achieving health, education and social inclusion outcomes," the release said.

The Council is also evolving the design of a new 'Economy Tracking Monitor', linking economic growth indicators with social metrics for last-mile connectivity.

Presentations by experts were made to the Council on key themes, including infrastructure financing by Debroy. He underlined the need for infrastructure financing to be accorded high priority, with new mechanisms for a risk coverage umbrella.

"The unique feature of the new Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister is turning out to be its ability to link economic growth with social aspects, with greater last-mile connectivity," the release said.

Its "value addition as an independent institutional mechanism" for providing informed advice to the Prime Minister is increasingly being recognised, it added.