Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with top economists and experts from various fields on Friday to discuss measures that are likely to be included in the upcoming budget for boosting economic growth. Meanwhile, PM will discuss ways to resolve the uncertainty in the economy caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. The meeting will be virtual and is being organized by NITI Aayog.
Apart from PM Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar and NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amitabh Kant will also attend the meeting on Friday.
Top economists and sectoral experts will interact with PM Modi:
Apart from these, the meeting will also feature top economists and experts Arvind Panagariya, KV Kamat, Rakesh Mohan, Shankar Acharya, Shekhar Shah, Arvind Virmani and Ashok Lahri. According to an official, “The Prime Minister will meet economists on Friday to seek their inputs for the next budget.”
Finance Minister will present the budget on February 1:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on February 1, 2021, in Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, the National Statistics Office (NSO) has projected a 7.7 percent decline in the Indian economy in the current financial year.
Agriculture sector likely to grow at 3.4 percent in FY 2020-21:
According to NSO data, in the current financial year, almost every sector except the agriculture sector saw contraction. The agriculture sector is projected to grow at 3.4 percent in FY 2020-21. At the same time, NSO estimates a significant contraction in services related to trade, hotel, and communication in FY 21. At the same time, the country’s economy contracted by 23.9 percent in the first quarter of the current financial year and 7.5 percent in the second quarter.
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