New Delhi, Nov 04: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
on Tuesday constituted an apex group under his chairmanship to
coordinate the government's response on industry's concerns in
the wake of the global financial crisis and its impact on
India.
The group would comprise of Finance Minister P
Chidambaram, Industry and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath,
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and
RBI Governor D Subbarao.
"The group will meet regularly to coordinate and decide
the government's response to the points raised by industry
time to time with regard to the current global financial
crisis and its impact on India," an official release said.
The decision to constitute the group comes a day after
the Prime Minister held a meeting with the industry leaders on
the global crisis.
The Prime Minister has also approved a Committee of
Officials chaired by Finance Secretary that would meet on a
daily basis or as often required to consider the issues raised
by the industry.
The members of the CoS include Commerce Secretary,
Industry Secretary and Secretary in the Planning Commission,
"The Joint Secretary (Banking), Finance Ministry will be the
government contact person to receive suggestions from
industry," the release said.
Earlier in the day Chidambaram met with PSU banks who assured him of slashing lending rates by atleast .75%.
Talking to the industry leaders yesterday, Singh had said
"We recognise that the situation is abnormal and we need to be
constantly on the alert. The situation is being watched on a
day-to-day basis and more steps will be taken if required."
He had also hoped that the industry will not give any knee-jerk reaction like mass lay-offs to deal with the crises.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 04, 2008, 00:00