Economists stress importance of investing in public health, education in interaction with PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with leading economists of the country on charting the economic agenda in the post-COVID world and highlighted government's commitment to developing world-class infrastructure and the economic potential set to be unleashed by National Optical Fibre Network.

He highlighted the faith shown by foreign investors in India's growth story, with foreign direct investment growing by 11 per cent between April and October, despite a global recession.

The participants stressed the importance of investing in public health and education, as human capital would also likely emerge as a driver of growth, especially in the knowledge economy going forward. They also stressed on labour-intensive manufacturing given the success India has achieved in launching the PLI scheme in mobile manufacturing. The interaction was orgsed by Niti Aayog.

"Government expenditure on infrastructure was a point made by many participants as a driver of growth in the coming years, given the significant multiplier benefits that accrue to the economy from public investments in infrastructure. A focus on labour-intensive manufacturing was also mooted by participants, given the success India has achieved in launching the production linked incentives (PLI) scheme in mobile manufacturing," a release by NITI Aayog said.

It said the participants agreed that high-frequency indicators were showing signs of a strong economic recovery and that too earlier than expected.

They were broadly in agreement that next year will see robust growth and suggested measures to maintain this growth rate to drive India's socio-economic transformation."

"The participants highlighted the strong structural reform measures that have been undertaken in the past few years and how they would help in the creation of an Atmrbhar Bharat. Suggestions were made by participants on future reform areas," the release said.

The participants also touched upon the potential for further fiscal measures and pitched for a prescribed path for fiscal consolidation. Financial sector reform was also discussed by participants.

They also highlighted the need to tap household savings as a potential avenue to secure long-term funding for infrastructure projects.

PM Modi appreciated the inputs received from the participants and highlighted the crucial role such interactions played in setting the national development agenda.

He highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent management threw up new professional challenges for all those involved.

The Prime Minister also highlighted that together with a fiscal stimulus, the government also tried reform based stimulus, which was seen through historic reforms in agriculture, commercial coal mining and labour laws.

The Prime Minister explained his vision behind an Atmrbhar Bharat, where Indian compes are integrated in global supply chains in a manner not seen before.

"PM Modi further highlighted the economic potential set to be unleashed by the National Optical Fibre Network, providing internet connectivity to some of India's most remote areas. On infrastructure, the Prime Minister highlighted the National Infrastructure Pipeline as the government's commitment to developing world-class infrastructure. The Prime Minister ended his talk by stating the importance of partnerships in achieving our goals, and that such consultations play a crucial role in setting the broader economic agenda," the release.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the meeting.

The leading economists who participated in the discussion included Arvind Panagariya, Arvind Virm, Abhay Pethe, Ashok Lahiri, Abheek Barua, Ila Patnaik, KV Kamath, Monika Halan, Rajiv Mantri, Rakesh Mohan, Ravindra Dholakia, Saumya Kanti Ghosh, Shankar Acharya, Shekhar Shah, Sonal Varma and Sunil Jain.

( With inputs from ANI )