Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a high-level meeting with leading economists and experts to formulate the government strategy for maintaining growth momentum at a time of global uncertainty.
The closed-door discussions at Niti Aayog, attended by senior government officials including finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, principal secretary P.K. Mishra and Niti Aayog vice-chairman Suman Bery, focused on long-term growth strategies amid global economic uncertainties.
Modi underscored the need for a fundamental shift in mindset to achieve “Viksit Bharat” (Developed India), emphasising structural reforms and inclusive growth as essential pillars of this transformation.
Suggestions included fostering private and foreign investments, improving financial inclusion and enhancing export competitiveness.
Specific measures to support sectors such as MSMEs, agriculture and manufacturing were also discussed, with an emphasis on addressing global challenges and domestic structural issues.
“Participants shared their views on several significant issues including navigating challenges posed by global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions, strategies to enhance employment, particularly among youth and create sustainable job opportunities across sectors,” a PMO release said.
Discussions also took place on strategies to align education and training programmes with the evolving needs of the job market in the countryw, enhancing agricultural productivity and creating sustainable rural employment opportunities.
“Attracting private investment and mobilising public funds for infrastructure projects to boost economic growth and create jobs and promoting financial inclusion and boosting exports and attracting foreign investment were also discussed,” the PMO release said.
The meeting saw participation from 15 prominent economists including agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, former IMF executive director Surjit Bhalla and D.K. Joshi from Crisil.
The meeting comes in the backdrop India’s economic slowdown with GDP growth decelerating to 5.4 per cent in Q2 FY25, the lowest in seven quarters.
