Ahead of Budget 2018, PM and economists brainstorm on ways to revive growth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on  Wednesday brainstormed with economists and experts on the state of the economy as the government looks to revive growth which is set to hit a 4-year low.

The meeting with over 40 economists and sectoral experts came weeks before the NDA-government presents its fifth and final full budget that would look to address pain points in the economy and boosting growth to 7-8 per cent.

The interactive session, organised by NITI Aayog, was on the theme, 'Economic Policy The Road Ahead'.

It had participants express their views on macro-economy, agriculture, rural development, employment, health, education, manufacturing, exports, urban development, infrastructure and connectivity.
 
"In his intervention, the Prime Minister thanked various participants for their suggestions and observations, on various aspects of the economy. In particular, he appreciated the quality of suggestions that had come from various subject experts," the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

It however did not provide details about the deliberations.

The meeting was attended by several Union Ministers, including Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Vice Chairman NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar, and senior officers from the Centre and NITI Aayog were also present.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has projected India's growth to slow to 4-year low of 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal in the backdrop of introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.