The Planning Commission on Tuesday said it expected industrial production to beat last year's growth and attributed the revival to various stimulus measures. His comments came after latest government data showed that factory production grew 11.7 per cent in November last year.
Departing from convention, the Planning Commission has sent the draft Approach Paper of the 11th Five Year Plan to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh first for approval.
Following widespread drought and floods in various parts of the country, food inflation climbed to more than a 10-year high of 19.95 per cent in December, driven mainly by higher prices of potato, other vegetables and pulses.
Oil and gold had accounted for 45 per cent of India's imports bill in 2012-13.
Echoing similar views, CII too said the Prime Minister has given high importance to manufacturing and investment.
The Planning Commission had recently recommended leaving the coal prices to the market and allowing free trade of coal nationally and internationally. Although coal prices were deregulated in 2000, the rates are fixed by the coal PSUs under the guidance of the coal ministry.
Replying to a question related to the possibility of additional fiscal stimulus measures in the forthcoming Budget, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said: "We have started some discussion with the finance ministry. This is related to what should be an appropriate size for planned expenditure for 2009-10." In the interim Budget announced in February this year, the planned expenditure for 2009-10 was budgeted at Rs 2,85,149 crore.
Besides Parikh, Singh sent letters of appreciation to V L Chopra, B Mungekar and Anwarul Hoda indicating that they may not find a place in the reconstituted body.
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.
Find out how India cooks in this data-driven story.
Ahluwalia's assessment of economic growth is marginally higher than 6.3 per cent projected by the Commission earlier.
The government is likely to raise the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS)-- the amount of assistance provided by the Centre for Plan schemes-- by 15 per cent to Rs 2.60 lakh crore during 2010-11.
'If some measures are implemented quickly, they can help revive growth.'
The Planning Commission is likely to scale down the average growth rate for the eleventh plan period (2007-12) to 8 per cent from an earlier projection of 9 per cent.
The Planning Commission on said food prices will come down in the next two months easing the overall inflation, which is currently at over 8.5 per cent.
In a recent letter to the power ministry, the Planning Commission recommended allocation of Rs 10,630 crore (Rs 106.3 billion) gross budgetary support for the ministry.
Singh, a former Army officer, had been ill after a fall at his home in August 2014 and was admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital. He had been in and out of the hospital and was admitted again in June this year.
The Planning Commission on Wednesday said that the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) is likely to miss the deadline of April 1, but it could be introduced in the next fiscal only.
The commission in its recent assessment of the economy also expects economic growth to go up to nine per cent in 2011-12, and further to 10 per cent in 2014-15.
Ambassador Venu Rajamony, who served as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure, salutes the statesman and political legend, who passed into the ages on Monday.
The ministry of finance has assured the Planning Commission of at least 15 percent increase in gross budgetary support for 2010-11, over the 2009-10 budget estimates.
In an apparent reference to political differences between Bharatiya Janata Party and Trinamool Congress, Jaitley said there are national causes to stand together, notwithstanding political differences.
In his book, Backstage: The Story Behind India's High Growth Years, Montek Singh Ahluwalia accepted the Act "increased the cost of land to financially unsustainable levels ... and made it easier for anyone who wants to stop a project to use the various consultative processes required under the law to delay matters".
The commission had earlier projected a 2.5 per cent fall in the farm output due to weak monsoon but expects the drop to be less than that.
"They (prices of petroleum products) should be linked to world prices," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia told PTI when asked about the global crude prices now surging to about $70 a barrel.
It would be a good idea to create independent oversight committees for each regulatory institution and indeed, even for their appellate bodies, says A K Bhattacharya.
Even as the flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme continues to face problems at the implementation level, Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, ignoring suggestions by Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other economists, has refused to bring any major change in the scheme.
The Planning Commission on Monday said the fiscal deficit, the difference between total revenue and expenditure, will not exceed the budgetary estimate of 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
"We have received various representations over the new eligibility criteria which enables foreign bidders to score higher than Indian bidders. This, in the long run, may lead to a major chunk of infrastructure projects being bagged by foreign companies. To ensure a level playing field, we are considering whether an additional weight of 30 to 33 per cent should be given for projects developed or constructed in India," a senior government source said.
This is a 22 per cent hike compared to the funding the state received last year.
'India has seen that whenever dynastic politics has been powerful, institutions have taken a severe beating'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday asked the Planning Commission to prepare by Monday, a report on achievements of the government in different sectors that would later be made public.
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Between FY05 and FY12, rural poverty declined at 2.3 per cent per annum and urban at 1.69 per cent.
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.
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.
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.
Demanding a probe by central regulatory agency into the financial irregularities committed by software company Satyam Computer Services, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday alleged that a scam of such proportions was not possible without the support of SEBI, MCA, Planning Commission and the Andhra Pradesh government.
A severe drought has the potential to restrict the country's economic growth to 5.5 per cent, the Planning Commission has said.
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