The newly constituted Economic Advisory Council believes that the government must not deviate from efforts to lower deficits and debt accumulation, Chairman Bibek Debroy said after its first meeting on Wednesday. He said the council also has a consensus on the reasons behind the economic slowdown in India, though he refused to name them.
For the 2017-’18 financial year, the government had decided on a fiscal deficit target of 3.2% of the Gross Domestic Product and 3% for the next three years. There have been speculations lately that the government might consider loosening the target and boost spending to revive the economy.
In its first meeting, the Economic Advisory Council listed 10 concerns it will work on initially, Debroy said. The list includes economic growth, job creation, integration of the informal sector with the formal economy, fiscal framework, monetary policy, public expenditure, agriculture and consumption and production patterns.
The council will meet next in November, Debroy said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had formed the committee on September 25, with economist and Niti Aayog member Debroy as the head, to bring reforms to the Indian financial system. Economists Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy and Ashima Goyal and former Finance Secretary Ratan Watal are the other members of the panel.
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