EAC identifies 10 key areas to address economic slowdown

The Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Prime Minister has zeroed in on 10 key areas for economic stabilization and bringing the economy back to shape over the next six months. Acknowledging a slowdown, the Council has picked up monetary policy, job creation, public expenditure, agriculture and animal husbandry among the top focus areas.

The EAC, in its first formal meeting on Wednesday, saw Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian making a presentation on how to boost economic growth using a combination of policy levers.

EAC Chairman Bibek Debroy, who is also a Member of the NITI Aayog, commented that the members of EAC have reached a consensus that various reasons have been in play that slowed down growth. “Our entire thrust would be on implementable decisions. Our views on the ten identified areas would be on specific things that you can change tomorrow,” he said.

He added that the Council will keep in mind the forthcoming Union Budget while formulating any strategy. Debroy said that the five members of the EAC will take the responsibility of monitoring the ten actionable areas, which have, however, not been prioritised yet. Other members in the EAC include economists Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy, Ashima Goyal, and Member-Secretary Ratan P. Watal. Progress would be discussed at the next meeting of the EAC in November. A detailed report will be handed over to the Prime Minister that will be structured around the ten areas and views would be formulated after consultations with all the Ministries and Departments, including the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India.

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, GDP growth decelerated to 5.7 per cent, the lowest since the Narendra Modi Government took office in 2014.

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