The Pune International Centre (PIC) was delighted to host Mr. Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. He spoke on the topic, ‘Government’s Strategy and Policies Towards Achieving the Target of $5 Trillion Economy by 2025.’ The event was chaired by Dr. Ajit Ranade, Vice Chancellor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) and the noted journalist and author, Mr. Shankkar Aiyar, Member, PIC, participated in the discussion.
The event chair, Dr. Ranade, in his opening remarks, gave the audience a brief overview of the Indian economy, post Covid-19. According to him, aiming for a high employment ratio and consistent economic growth were necessary for the nation to achieve the target of a $5 Tr. economy in coming years.
Mr Sanyal spoke of the measures taken by the government in the wake of the pandemic in early 2020 and explained the various liberal policies rolled out were now beginning to give results. The Atmanirbhar Bharat programme, aimed at reducing dependence on imports of crucial commodities, focus on Privatization of PSUs, providing an enabling environment to MSMEs through new schemes were the other key points discussed during the webinar. Mr. Shankkar Aiyar, highlighted the limitations of the primary sector in providing employment, and said, “With 40% population, sustaining on just 16% GDP, it’s necessary for the policy makers to make Agriculture remunerative and productive in years to come.”
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Sanyal said improving municipal governance and enforcement of legal contracts were the two low hanging fruits where timely action can help yield benefits in the long run. The webinar concluded with an interactive Q&A session.