Page 5 - Niti Aayog

Under-employment a problem for India: Panagariya as he pitches for reforms

Pitching for labour reforms, the chairman of the 16th Finance Commission and former NITI Aayog Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Saturday said that "unemployment," is not a problem for India but "under-employment" is. Speaking at a session 'The Economic Whisper: how to fuel growth with jobs' at the concluding day of the two-day ABP Network's 'Ideas of India Summit 3.0' here, he also sounded optimistic that the jobs problem in the country will be solved over the next 10 years. "Unemployment is really not India's problem in my view. Our problem is underemployment, so productivity is low. So the job that can be done by one person often gets done by two people or maybe three people. And that is where I think, the real challenge of jobs is creating well-paid high-productivity jobs," he said. Stating that in the economy's jargon, India is a labour-abundant and capital-scarce country, he said, "What we have done is to put much of the capital in very selective sectors which are in any case very

Pulses, oilseeds demand to outstrip production by 2047-48: NITI Aayog

"Augmentation of oilseeds yield, and production from secondary sources can reduce the gap in the short-run, and achieve self-sufficiency in the long-run," the report said

16th FC chairman Panagariya warns against pitfalls of import substitution

On why countries with low per-capita incomes, such as India, must focus on exports, Panagariya explained how the global export market was worth $32 trillion in 2022, almost ten times India's GDP

Caring for the elderly

Longevity dividend can be both a burden and an opportunity

Tax reforms, reskilling of elderly needed in senior care: NITI Aayog

Protection of elderly from financial frauds needs to be ensured, says NITI

NITI Aayog pitches for tax reforms, mandatory saving plan for elderly

Government think tank NITI Aayog has pitched for tax reforms, mandatory saving plan, and housing plan for elderly in India, as the population of senior citizens is projected to reach 19.5 per cent of the country's population by 2050. In a report titled 'Senior Care Reforms in India - Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm', NITI Aayog said a national portal for senior care must be developed for senior citizens to provide easy access of services to them. "Since the social security framework in India is limited, most seniors depend on the income generated from their savings. Variable interest rates result in the erosion of their income, sometimes even below sustenance levels. "Therefore, a regulatory mechanism is required to set a viable base rate for the interest accrued on senior citizen deposits," the report said. The report emphasised that giving a further concession to older women will contribute to their financial well-being. The elderly in India currently comprises a little ove

NITI Aayog plans economic transformation of 4 cities, including Mumbai

The NITI Aayog has prepared a plan for economic transformation of Mumbai, Surat, Varanasi and Vizag and help India become a developed economy by 2047, its CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said on Saturday. He also said the Aayog plans to prepare economic planning of 20-25 more cities, as they are the centre of economic activities. A vision document is being prepared by NITI Aayog for India to become a developed economy of USD 30 trillion by 2047, and it will be released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "We used to only prepare urban planning of cities, not economic planning..NITI Aayog has prepared economic planning of Mumbai, Surat, Varanasi and Vizag, for economic transformation of these cities," he said at an event here. Last year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had held a meeting with NITI Aayog officials during which steps needed to take the GDP of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to USD 300 billion by 2030 were discussed. Subrahmanyam said the Centre had sought views of the ..

Remaking PLI: Can a revamp of the scheme plug the gaps and speed things up

PLI is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream scheme to transform India into a manufacturing hub for the world

NITI Aayog report bats for incentives to promote LNG as transportation fuel

Government think tank NITI Aayog has pitched for providing fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to promote liquified natural gas (LNG) as a transportation fuel in medium and heavy commercial vehicles. In a report titled LNG as a Transportation Fuel in Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle', the Aayog said the government's think-tank suggested setting up a demand aggregator company for buying LNG trucks, similar to Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) in the electric vehicle sector. According to the Aayog, India's rapidly expanding trucking market, which is expected to more than quadruple, from 4 million trucks in 2022 to roughly 17 million trucks by 2050, offers immense scope for lowering emissions and encouraging investments for growth. The Aayog suggested that priority lane access, for LNG vehicles can be provided as non-fiscal incentives to promote LNG. "Major cities and roadways need to be recognised, and such priority lane access can be tested first in major cities and roads," it ...

Claim payout delays put PLI scheme's nodal agencies under scrutiny

NITI Aayog to monitor project management agencies, ministries to ensure speedier claim settlement

Not by cosmetic changes alone

Disinvestment can get a shot in the arm by ministerial revamp, not by just a nomenclature change

Bill for NFIR almost ready; may be introduced in next session: DEA secy

Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth has said that a draft Bill for setting up a National Financial Information Registry (NFIR) is almost ready and it may be introduced in the July session. The objective is to build a public infrastructure for credit-related information and the right information can be made available by the NFIR to lending agencies. A National Financial Information Registry will serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information. This will facilitate efficient flow of credit, promote financial inclusion, and foster financial stability. "Stakeholder consultations on the draft bill are over now and it is almost ready. We will shortly take it to the Cabinet for its approval but introduction in this session will not be possible," Seth told PTI in an interview. However, he said, the Bill may be introduced in the July session. The July session would be the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha after the general elections in the next couple of months. .

Interim Budget 2024: India's economic future bright, in capable hands

While the IMF estimates the Indian economy to grow at 6.7 per cent in 2023-24, there is no other comparable economy that is growing as rapidly as India

Govt appoints 3 full-time, 1 part-time member of 16th Finance Commission

The Finance Commission is a constitutionally mandated body established once every 5 yrs to devise a formula for distributing net tax proceeds between the Centre and the states

India's challenge: Building sovereign GenAI

It needs more than just ambition; attracting Indian researchers back to the country is just one of the hurdles

Nitin Gadkari proposes use of non-functional coal mines in Vidarbha

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said those coal mines in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region and WCL areas which are economically not viable, produce low-quality coal, and where mining is almost stopped can be used for coal gasification projects. He was addressing a session on 'coal gasification' at the Advantage Vidarbha event in Nagpur city which was attended by coal secretary Amritlal Meena, Niti Aayog member VK Saraswat and Coal India Limited (CIL) chairman PM Prasad among others. During his speech, the Minister for Road Transport and Highways asked the CIL and the Coal Ministry whether "coal mines which are economically not viable and those with low-quality coal and where mining is almost stopped in Vidarbha and Western Coal Fields (WCL) areas" could be used for coal gasification projects. He also pitched for the use of non-viable coal blocks and low-quality ones under WCL areas for coal gasification. The Union minister backed public-private partnerships in coal gasification

Need to boost maize yields for meeting ethanol demand: NITI Aayog member

NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand on Wednesday stressed on the need to increase maize yields to meet the demand for ethanol production. Addressing a workshop on maize here, Chand said that achieving the higher maize productivity is crucial for increasing the maize production in the country, as per an official statement. Speaking on the occasion, Agriculure Secretary Manoj Ahuja emphasised the pivotal role of the private sector in formulating progressive strategies for the maize sector, positioning maize as the crop of opportunity. He also stressed on adoption of high-yielding seed varieties, cluster demonstration, procurement policy, and the necessity for the industry to collaborate with farmers for propelling maize production and ensuring better remuneration for farmers. Special Chief Secretary in the Punjab government K A P Sinha mentioned about challenges related to diversifying from paddy/wheat to maize in the state. He stressed the need for infrastructure, machinery, incentives

Cabinet nod for three officer-level posts for 16th Finance Commission

The three posts include two posts of Joint Secretary and one post of Economic Adviser

Best of BS Opinion: Development debate, merger drama in television & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Over 248 mn Indians moved out of poverty in last 9 years: NITI report

As many as 24.82 crore people moved out of multidimensional poverty in nine years from 2013-14 to 2022-23, with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh registering the largest decline, NITI Aayog said in a report on Monday. Multidimensional poverty is measured by improvement in health, education, and standard of living, it said. According to the NITI discussion paper, multidimensional poverty in India was found to have declined from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23, with about 24.82 crore people moving out of this bracket during this period. The national multidimensional poverty measures simultaneous deprivations across three equally weighted dimensions of health, education, and standard of living that are represented by 12 sustainable development goals-aligned indicators, according to NITI Aayog. These include nutrition, child and adolescent mortality, maternal health, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electrici