PM’s EAC identifies 10 key areas for accelerating economic growth

The first meeting of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister chaired by Bibek Debroy, member NITI Aayog, today identified ten priority areas for accelerating economic growth and employment over the next six months, with greater last mile connectivity.

The EAC has identified ten key areas to initially work on, which include accelerating economic growth, job creation and fiscal framework, informed Debroy. The EAC would prepare detailed papers on these 10 key areas.

"We picked 10 issues that we'll initially work on," EAC chairman Bibek Debroy told reporters after the first meeting of the council.

The EAC today identified ten themes around which the council report would be structured in the coming months and developed by Theme Groups, led by its members, through consultative processes involving sectoral ministries, states, experts, institutions, private sector and other key stakeholders.

The ten themes identified are Economic Growth, Employment and job creation, informal sector and integration, fiscal framework, monetary policy, public expenditure, institutions of economic governance, agriculture and animal husbandry, patterns of consumption and production and social sector.

Another key issue recognised was the need for effective tracking of key economic parameters, through possible mechanisms for instituting an economy track monitor, using lead indicators and triggers for action, based on informed assessment and analysis.

It was also agreed that specific issue papers will also be brought out by members to address key concerns and linkages will be established with key national institutions.

The new EAC-PM is seen as an additional and independent institutional mechanism to provide informed advice to the prime minister on addressing issues of macroeconomic importance and related aspects.

The meeting attended by members, including leading economists Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy, Ashima Goyal and member secretary Ratan P Watal, also former finance secretary and principal adviser NITI Aayog, took stock of the current economic, fiscal and monetary policy environment and identified key issues that it would focus on.