Hailing the Budget 2009-10 as "growth oriented", Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday said there would be no need for another stimulus in the current fiscal.
The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was attended by Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Industry leaders, including Ratan Tata, Rahul Bajaj, Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal, who are members of the council, also participated in the discussions.
With the economy witnessing a slowdown, the Planning Commission has recommended to the finance ministry that states be given more freedom to borrow from the market, even if the fiscal deficit touches 4 per cent of state GDP.
With the inflation rate almost halving from the peak levels in August and economic growth slackening, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said there is further scope for the Reserve Bank of India to cut lending rates.
A core group of ministers on Wednesday held inconclusive deliberations on a proposal to raise fuel prices, necessitated by a spike in global crude prices that threatens to spawn an oil import crisis.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said agriculture growth in the country cannot double without the involvement of the corporate sector.
India can now, if required, borrow up to $30 billion a year, up from $6 billion, from the International Monetary Fund for a three-month period which can be renewed twice more in 3-month cycles.
The principal Opposition party said an immediate cut in petrol and diesel prices was required in the larger interest of the nation. The BJP also demanded that interest rate on housing loans be brought down to 6 per cent and a real push be given for infrastructure development to 'avoid a catastrophe'.
The impact of stimulus measures was evident as manufacturing grew by 10.2 per cent, electricity by 10.6 per cent in August.
India is expected to record a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 6 per cent this fiscal, which will improve further in the next fiscal with likely recovery in the global economy, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
They are of the view that calling the new institutes "IITs" would dilute the brand image of the existing premier institutes, which figure among the world's 100 best technology universities and are compared with the likes of MIT, California University and Berkeley. The seven IITs are located in Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee.
The Planning Commission sees stronger economic expansion in the second half which could push up the growth rate for the current fiscal to beyond 6.3 per cent projected earlier by the panel.
A committee of secretaries is already looking into the issue of pricing, which companies like RIL, British Gas and British Petroleum have said should be market-determined.
"Second quarter will be worse (than 6.1 per cent growth in Q1) and may be Q3 also," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said today after the full plan panel meeting. However, he said the economic growth will rebound in the fourth quarter to enable the economy to clock 6.3 per cent for the entire fiscal.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Wednesday allayed fears over significant hardening of interest rates in view of the high government borrowings, pegged at around Rs 4.5 lakh crore (Rs 4.5 trillion) this fiscal.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday that inflation would go up and hover between 4 and 5 per cent by the end of this year.
In a note, titled 'IIFCL financing for PPP projects,' sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ahluwalia wrote, 'It was pointed out in the meeting that the term of the current CMD (chairman and managing director) of IIFCL ends on March 10. The FS (finance secretary) had indicated that the term can be extended. Action on this front should be expedited to avoid loss of momentum.'
Montek Singh Ahluwalia appealed to the Indian Diaspora at the PBD gathering to support health care ventures of the Indian government, for people below the poverty line.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia Thursday said there is no reason why India, despite the current global financial turmoil, could not get back to earlier high growth path if it can step up domestic investment demands.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia Thursday said there is no reason why India, despite the current global financial turmoil, could not get back to earlier high growth path if it can step up domestic investment demands.
The government is formulating a standard concession agreement for roads, ports and airports, expected to be ready by later this year.
With industrial production contracting by 0.4 per cent in October, for the first time in 15 years, and the exports declining by over 12 per cent during the month, the government came out with a stimulus package on December 7 to spur growth and help the industry combat the impact of global financial meltdown. As part of the stimulus package, the government cut excise duty by 4 per cent across the board, except on petroleum products.
With economic conditions turning better compared to that three months ago, the Planning Commission on Monday said economy should record at least 6.7 per cent growth rate this fiscal, the same as was witnessed in 2008-09.
Aviation Minister Praful Patel's outburst against Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is perhaps not difficult to understand since most people think it was actually Patel who should have been keeping an eye on the delays at the Delhi airport.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia made a case on Wednesday for setting up a credible regulatory environment to attract funds for infrastructure development in the country. There are opportunities for private sector participation in infrastructure projects, which are being developed under the PPP mode, like on roads, ports and power, Ahluwalia told global investors.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Tuesday lashed out at the Planning Commission, holding it responsible for the delay in the modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports.
Inflation rate fell to 0.27 per cent for the second week of March from 0.44 per cent for the week ended March 7. However, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday the Indian economy is not heading towards deflation despite inflation nearing the zero-level in the past few weeks.
With the five-year term of Reserve Bank of India Governor Y V Reddy coming to an end soon, names of his deputy Rakesh Mohan and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia are emerging as potential successors, a media report said in London.
Higher economic growth can be sustained only in an atmosphere of reasonable price stability
This was announced at the Indo-US Economic Cooperation conference held on Friday.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Wednesday called for sweeping reforms in education and health to make the surging economic growth truly inclusive.
Batting for the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry, the Planning Commission on Friday said concessions to special economic zones should be at par with those provided to infrastructure projects.\n\n
Population growth rate would be 1.5 per cent during the period 2007-12. "The next 10 years, India will register four major changes. The economic growth will accelerate, the technology will also grow and domestic industry will experience major liberalisation," Ahluwalia said after inaugurating the 22nd Indian Engineering Congress in Udaipur.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said the fiscal stimulus package unveiled by the government was "adequate" and the next package should aim at creating productive investments in infrastructure.
He rejected the recommendation of the report that "major emitters" in developing countries should aim at an emission trajectory that peaks in 2020 and leads to a 20 per cent cut by 2050.
This is the message of the latest Human Development report, 2007-2008, which was released on Tuesday by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in New Delhi. The global release was in Brazil.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia warned that any extraordinary steps to contain inflation may prove counter-productive.
In an interview to CFO Asia, a publication of The Economist Group, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the general public was opposed to privatisation of state-owned enterprises although they feel that public sector was inefficient and corrupt.
The Planning Commission on Tuesday projected a 8.5-9 per cent economic growth for this fiscal despite a slowdown in industrial growth in July.
India has said it would exercise caution in embracing fuller rupee float since the gradual approach towards liberalising the foreign exchange regime has paid in the past.
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