The Planning Commission has scaled down the growth rate for the Eleventh Plan ending 2012 to 8.1 per cent from 9 per cent in the wake of the global financial crisis that slowed the pace of economic expansion.
The panel also said the decline in exports would slow down after 2010 when the developed economies would return to positive growth. India's exports are on a down slide since October 2008, because of the global slump in demand. In 2008-09, the country's overseas shipment grew by meagre 3.4 per cent to about $168 billion compared to the same period last year.
A severe drought has the potential to restrict the country's economic growth to 5.5 per cent, the Planning Commission has said.
Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister Suresh D Tendulkar, as well as other member of the apex panel submitted their resignation on Tuesday.
Breaks self-imposed rule never to return to an office he has occupied in the past.
Food security for all was a poll promise from the ruling Congress party before this year's general elections.
The 'golden share', which will be owned by the government, will ensure that it has a say in all major decisions taken by the private concessionaire. It will also obviate the need for the government to invest in the equity of the company. The proposal has been mooted by the Planning Commission in the new model concession agreement that it has developed for the infrastructure sector. The agreement has been circulated among various stakeholders for consultation.
Setting at rest speculation about the possibility of tax cuts to boost growth, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday said the government will not change the tax structure during the current fiscal, ending March 31.
The Planning Commission on Saturday approved the draft integrated energy policy, which seeks to implement market-based pricing and bring about better coordination among ministries.
After failing to get bids for over half of its highway projects last year, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to put up 19 highway projects worth Rs 23,805 crore for rebidding next month through a new short-listing process.
Calling for 'fundamental restructuring' to put India back on its growth trajectory, McKinsey said on Wednesday that the country will run out of capital to support economic expansion.
The issues concerning growth and Mid-Term Review of the 11th Plan came up for discussion at the first meeting of the newly constituted Planning Commission. The 11th Plan had set an average economic growth target of 9 per cent for 2007-12. Although the economy during 2007-08 expanded by 9 per cent, growth plummeted to 6.7 per cent during 2008-09 on account of the impact of the global crisis.
Was Manmohan Singh focused too much on getting policy right, while Narendra Modi is focused essentially on getting projects moving?
The Prime Minister's EAC is expected to give its outlook on economy for the current fiscal in a week's time.
'India has seen that whenever dynastic politics has been powerful, institutions have taken a severe beating'
Planning Commission to ask Prime Minister's Office to intervene.
The minister further said another industry chamber Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry too had contradicted the Assocham study, which had said that in the next 10 days or so about 25 to 30 per cent employees are likely to lose jobs in seven sectors including aviation, information technology, steel, financial services, real estate, cement and construction.
Labour and Employment Minister Oscar Fernandes said about 400 government ITIs are also being upgraded under World Bank assistance and about 100 through domestic funding. Besides, about 1,396 government ITIs are being upgraded through PPP mode.
Talking to reporters accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his US visit, the deputy chairperson of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the trend of constant rising inflation in India was disappearing. Maintaining that the financial meltdown in the US has not had a direct impact on India, Ahluwalia said the country had an ample stock of foreign exchange reserves to deal with the temporary meltdown in financial markets.
Ahluwalia argues that India can attract more capital even in today's world, provided the country retains an open system
T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan recalls a tussle between the government and RBI when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister and how it was resolved.
The economy, otherwise, is likely to expand by 6.3 per cent in the current fiscal, aided by stimulus packages and United Progressive Alliance's flagship programme National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the report said. The report, prepared by Commission member Kirit Parikh views the measures announced in the interim budget as increase in public consumption and public investment.
Laying the foundation of the 500-bed Jorhat Medical College Hospital in Upper Assam on Monday, Dr Singh informed that the Planning Commission had estimated that there would be shortage of about 1 million nurses in the country in the next 10 years. In this regard he said given the scope, the 'educated and progressive women' of the north-east would be able to make good doctors and nurses to cater to the countrywide need of medical professionals.
The report, which was submitted to the prime minister last week, said that in the best-case scenario exports would register a growth rate of 6 per cent next fiscal. As regards 2008-09, the commerce ministry data said exports grew by 13.2 per cent during April-January. However, as the negative trend that started in October is believed to have continued in February and March as well, the annualised export expansion may not exceed 3-4 per cent.
In other welfare schemes, such as those for cooking gas, pension and scholarships, which are linked to DBT, cash is transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries.
The Planning Commission may go for a correction in the 11th Five Year Plan targets as it gears up for mid-term assessment of goals next year in view of the global financial meltdown's impact on the economy.
The Planning Commission has recommended that the private company in 50:50 joint sector infrastructure projects should be selected through competitive bidding.
The right policy response to global price increases is not straightforward. The draft report is wide-ranging in its scope, and it attempts to provide a coherent, integrated view of financial sector reforms that would equip India's financial sector to support growth, widen financial access and maintain stability over the next decades. The report is being released for public discussion at a critical juncture in both the domestic and global economy.
"I could say 40,000 Mw is certainly achievable, 60,000 Mw is a possible target but 77,000 Mw looks a bit difficult," said Kirit Parikh, member (energy), Planning Commission. He attributed the apprehension over meeting the capacity addition target mainly to the non-achievement of financial closures of some projects. About 15 per cent -- 12,000 MW -- of the power generation target for the current Plan period has been achieved.
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.
One consequence of this shift will be that other sectors will see a reduction in the amount of resources allocated over the 11th Plan period. On the whole, the non-priority sectors, which accounted for 44.8 per cent of the total allocation during the 10th Plan period (2002-07), will now only get 25.3 per cent.
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.
The robust GDP growth rate experienced by the country in the last few years is indeed commendable and was aided by investment in infrastructure. To sustain growth rates, it is imperative for India to make higher investments towards setting up world-class infrastructure.
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.
India will become the third-biggest economy in the world by 2030, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.
Private partners like GMR and GVR, humiliated from time to time, have good reason to shrug their shoulders and argue that matters are outside their control.
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.
The 'poor' also own TVs and two-wheelers and no discussion of poverty is complete unless it acknowledges this.
H Y Sharada Prasad, freedom fighter, columnist and the speech writer of three Prime Ministers of India, passed away in New Delhi on Tuesday. Dr Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, remembers the man who was famous for a book that he never wrote.
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.
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