The authority is set to cross the target by the end of this month, with a million enrolments every day. It has already allotted 116.3 million Aadhar numbers.
The government is doing a lot to push growth but the impact of its efforts will be felt in the second half of the fiscal when the expansion rate will show some improvement, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
According to principal advisor with the Planning Commission and former chief statistician, Pronob Sen, there were 40-45 million more people in the age group of 15-59 between 2004-05 and 2009-10. The unemployment rate has correspondingly fallen from 2.3 per cent to 2 per cent of the labour force.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of senior ministers on Tuesday to discuss the recommendations of the National Advisory Council on the Food Security Bill.
Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the government, has raised the FII investment limit in government securities by $5 billion to $20 billion.
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.
He was speaking to reporters along with Union Minister of State for Planning Ashwini Kumar on the sidelines of the Regional Consultation with five Eastern States on the Approach Paper to be finalised by the Planning Commission.
India can raise funds through selling up to\n49 percent of its state-run firms, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the\nPlanning Commission, has said.
Differing with International Monetary Fund's growth forecast of 4.9 per cent for India during 2012, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said it has a statistical problem.
The Plan panel on Wednesday said the government's refusal to accord environment clearance to Vedanta's proposed $1.7 billion aluminium project in Orissa would not tarnish India's image as an investment friendly destination.
Farm activists say low MSP is fine, if salaries revised under the Sixth Pay Commission are lowered.
India on Wednesday said the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism would provide a legal base for a fight against the global scourge, noting that the United Nations' global counter-terrorism strategy would be incomplete without such a convention. In an address to the ongoing 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan termed terrorism as a "scourge of humanity" and a global problem.
Under attack over the Rs 32 per capita per day (in urban India and Rs 26 per day per person in rural areas) cut off for poverty line, the Planning Commission on Monday distanced itself from the controversial definition presented to the Supreme Court saying it did not represent its views.
The Reserve Bank of India announced measures late on Monday to curb the rupee's decline by tightening liquidity.
The industrial growth number for the month of December has been revised upward to 2.53 per cent from the provisional number of 1.6 per cent released earlier.
The Planning Commission said the decision of oil marketing companies to raise petrol price by Rs 3.14 per litre is a good news and will provide credibility to the economic reforms process.
"The performance of the public part of the (PPP) project should be subject to proper scrutiny but obviously where the private sector (is given) flexibility ... you cannot subject that to CAG scrutiny," Montek Singh, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman said when asked whether there is case for CAG scrutiny of PPP projects.
IT major Infosys Technologies Ltd became the first Indian company to remotely ring the opening bell of Nasdaq from its Mysore campus on Monday.
Ahluwalia also stressed on the need for aligning country's energy prices with the global rates and said, "because the climate change is ultimately caused by the use of fossil fuels, one critical issue is that we must have correct energy prices.
The board of directors of Tata Steel, which met on Friday, appointed Jim Leng, chairman, Corus, as a non-executive independent director designated as deputy chairman.
Modernisation of agricultural marketing is important, says Montek Singh Ahluwalia
The comment by the minister sparked anger with the Congress's Ghulam Nabi Azad saying it was sad that foreign media knew of it, but the minister didn't know of the incident.
Deficient monsoon is likely to pull down the economic growth in the current fiscal to about six per cent, from 6.5 per cent a year ago, the Planning Commission said on Friday.
Food inflation rose to 18.32 per cent for the week ended December 25, because of rise in prices of food items like onion, milk and meat.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said he has asked the state police to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed.
Last year, the Planning Commission got the approval for the 9 per cent annual average economic growth target under the Approach document for the 12th Plan from the country's apex decision making body, the National Development Council, headed by the Prime Minister with all the chief ministers and Cabinet ministers on board.
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.
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.
Already Puducherry owed to the Centre as much as Rs 4040 crore (Rs 40.4 billion) over the years as loan and interest.
He said while bringing in investments, it is also necessary to manage the high current account deficit.
Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, in an impromptu chat with reporters, sided with Sebi, while Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia cited the spat to make a case for setting up a Financial Development and Stability Council (FSDC).
The reaction from Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia comes a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested LIC Housing Finance CEO Ramachandran Nair and seven other senior bankers on charges of corruption and criminal conspiracy.
India may end the financial year with a seven per cent GDP growth rate, as the economic deceleration is expected to continue in the third quarter, said Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.
Those who have been following developments in the past few years know that Wal-Mart alone must have spent millions of dollars in India for lobbying with our government to open up retail sector for FDI.
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.
Behind its high-decibel campaign, powered by well-organised party machinery, the BJP also appears to have made a slight departure from its 'next generation' approach to stay ahead of an aggressive Congress and enhance its prospects of securing a majority of seats.
Planning Commission on Friday said there is no case for providing stimulus to the industry to arrest moderating growth as the fiscal deficit is high and may exceed the Budget estimate of 4.6 per cent by about one percentage point.
One of the names proposed by the dailies is India's Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Fit-again K L Rahul was included in India's squad for the 2023 World Cup, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar announced on Tuesday.
