Niti V-C Rajiv Kumar

Former NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday said the government needs to continue its focus on capital expenditure in the upcoming interim budget, as private investment is 'still weak' and there is a need to bridge infrastructure gap, which has been 'plaguing' the Indian economy. Kumar noted that increase in capital expenditure during the Modi government period is showing results in terms of the much better quality of the infrastructure and this was needed to make Indian industry globally competitive. He said because of rising indirect tax revenues and also the widening direct tax base, the finance minister will also achieve fiscal consolidation targets. "The capex thrust will continue because the private investment still remains a bit weak. And also, we need to overcome the infrastructure deficit that has plagued our economy and also the logistics cost, which are very high and can only be covered by rising public capital expenditure" he told PTI in an ...

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and his team members at the Tadepalli camp office in Guntur district on Wednesday.The Vice-Chairman congratulated the state govt and the Chief Minister on the remarkable schemes that have been implemented in Andhra Pradesh."What is happening in Andhra is quite credible and remarkable and I'm sure that the state will go on in this trajectory," Kumar said."It's a part of our efforts towards cooperative federalism. We want to engage with the states as much as possible. Our vision is to intensify this engagement in a constructive manner," he said.The team from NITI Aayog was on a two-day visit to Andhra Pradesh.As per the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), on the first day, Kumar and his team visited the village Secretariat and Rythu Bharosa Kendra (RBK) at Veerapanenigudem in Krishna district.Post which the team came to meet the Chief Minister and the state-level officials.Kumar lauded the schemes and

India should resist the misleading allure of domestic market and zealously boost exports, said the CEA

According to Kumar, the objective of the Rs 20 trillion-economic stimulus package announced by the government was to revive aggregate demand and not just consumer demand

Organic or natural farming is the sunrise sector of Indian agriculture, Kumar said, adding exports from this sector have risen significantly and have great potential for growth.

Former chief economic advisor Arvind Virmani and State Bank of India's group chief economic advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh are likely to attend the event

The country is obsessed with fiscal gap number and this obsession must end, says Rajiv Kumar

Corporate governance in public sector banks requires more attention, said Rajiv Kumar

"India needs to achieve six freedoms - freedom from poverty, squalor, corruption, terrorism, casteism and communalism," NITI Aayog VC Rajiv Kumar

For the moment, "we must celebrate uptick in the economy", Kumar further said