PM Modi meets top economists at NITI Aayog ahead of Union Budget

The meeting comes ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman full Union Budget for 2019-20 on July 5 in the Lok Sabha.

NEW DELHI: Amid concerns over slow economic growth in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met 40 economists and other experts in the national capital on Saturday. The theme of the interactive session, organised by NITI Aayog,  was “Economic Policy – The Road Ahead.” 

The meeting comes ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman full Budget for 2019-20 on July 5 in the Lok Sabha. It will be first full Budget of the Modi 2.0 government.

Several groups made presentations on key economic themes, said a release from the Prime Minister's Office. 

The meeting was also attended by Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Rao Inderjeet Singh. The Vice Chairman NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar, and senior officers from the Union Government and NITI Aayog were also present.

“During the session, participants shared their views, in five distinct groups, on the economic themes of macro-economy and employment, agriculture and water resources, exports, education, and health,” said the PMO.

"Lively, vibrant, constructive and extremely positive discussions with economists and experts on ‘Economic Policy: The Road Ahead’ under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister @narendramodi at #NITIAayog today," tweeted the government's policy think tank. 

Lively, vibrant, constructive and extremely positive discussions with economists and experts on ‘Economic Policy: The Road Ahead’ under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister @narendramodi at #NITIAayog today pic.twitter.com/2thoujEHaH — NITI Aayog (@NITIAayog) June 22, 2019

Saturday's meet comes in the backdrop of the country's economic growth slowing down to 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018-19, pushing India behind China.

The Central Statistics Office data also showed that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2018-19 (at 2011-12 prices) was at a five-year low of 6.8 per cent as compared to 7.2 per cent GDP growth in 2017-18.