Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia has been awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil law at the University of Oxford.
There are wide spread speculations in corridors of power in the Capital that Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia may take over as the next finance minister of India.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia is likely to remain deputy chairman of the planning commission, which will be constituted shortly.
Eminent economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia was on Wednesday appointed deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.
International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday said he favoured new heads of the World Bank and the Fund to be from countries other than Europe and the United States.
Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, on Monday congratulated Montek Singh Ahluwalia on his appointment as Deputy Chairman of India's Planning Commission.
Planning Commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia strongly favours need for a special package and help for poor Bihar in place of special category state status repeatedly demanded by chief minister Nitish Kumar.
'I do not believe that you would have a booming economy when you go into elections if you had a budget which did not answer the fiscal deficit concerns.'
Inclusiveness is not just about poverty reduction, it is much more than that
If Kamal Nath launches a broadside, it is because his ministry now can no longer afford to ignore the advice that comes from Yojana Bhavan.
'Maybe he was wrong, but they believed he genuinely meant what he said.'
Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, is among 19 members chosen by UN chief Ban Ki-moon for a high-level advisory group on Climate Change Financing tasked with mobilising funds pledged during the Copenhagen meet to tackle global warming.
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday admitted that there was concern across the country about the implementation of development schemes without any leakage.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia is the new deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.
Montek welcomes investment in infrastructure; deals worth over $5 billion signed at the 2nd India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue.
All members of the Planning Commission have submitted their resignations to the Prime Minister's Office paying the way for reconstitution of the institution.
Addressing the fourth India Investment Forum in New York, Montek Singh Ahluwalia highlighted the steps the government was taking to attract investments in the infrastructure sector, saying it is open to suggestions which they might have to offer.
Ahluwalia was married to former deputy chairperson of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia and is survived by her husband and two sons.
The meetings with the investors at New York, according to sources, are being organised by the US-India Business Council. The USIBC is the premier business advocacy organization representing America's top companies investing in India, joined by global Indian companies, promoting economic reforms with an aim to deepen trade and strengthen commercial ties.
The Planning Commission on Tuesday made a case for increasing prices of petrol and diesel arguing that it was not a good idea to check inflation by keeping prices of petroleum products low.
Ahluwalia, who was part of the team under then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh that started reform process in 1991, is presently with the International Monetary Fund, a post which he is expected to relinquish next month.
Major economic policy reforms in India that require legislative changes is most likely to slip away until the next general elections, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday.
The Reserve Bank of India announced measures late on Monday to curb the rupee's decline by tightening liquidity.
Defending the government's decision to raise prices of petroleum products, the Plan panel said on Wednesday it would suck money from the system and ease inflationary pressure in the long run.
The others who will be joining the commission as members are Narendra Jadhav, honorary vice-chancellor of Pune University and Mihir Shah, secretary of Samaj Pragati Sahayog. The government has also retained Abhijit Sen, Syeda Hameed and B K Chaturvedi as members in the reconstituted commission, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said.
It's imperative for the govt to reassure investors: Montek Ahluwalia
The country's economic growth rate slipped to 5.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011-12, lowest in nearly 9 years due to poor performance of the manufacturing and farm sectors.
Says govt and Vodafone would have a reasonable compromise.
Addressing a high level debate on 'State of the World Economy and Finance in 2012' at the United Nations General Assembly in United Nations on Thursday, Ahluwalia said the Indian economy grew at an average rate of 9 per cent in the five years prior to the financial crisis of 2008.
The Indian economy is expected to grow at least 7 per cent in the next financial year on the back of the two stimulus packages given by the government, but in the immediate-term there would be some pain and a rise in unemployment levels, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
Government sources in the PMO said Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other panel members will continue till the next Planning Commission is constituted by the prime minister. The apex panel plays a crucial role in the budgetary process. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to present the Budget in the first week of July. Though the recommendations of the Plan panel are not legally binding, the inputs are crucial in dealing with the planned expenditure by the government.
"I am in favour of generally multilaterally liberalising trade and I think the rest of the world is moving towards doing that in a parallel track," says Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The assessment sent to the Prime Minister recommended that a new think-tank be set up with experts of domain knowledge to replace the plan body.
The 64-year-old Planning Commission, a vestige of the socialist era, will soon become history.
Says govt's focus is to re-assure foreign investors that India is wide open for business.
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