TN to constitute experts panel for economic rebound: Governor

 

 

 

AN ECONOMIC Advisory Council to the Chief Minister would be constituted with leading experts including Nobel laureate Prof Esther Duflo, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit said on Monday in his customary address to Assembly. The Council is to prepare a roadmap for “rapid” and inclusive economic growth of the State, Purohit said in his first address to the House, which also marks the commencement of the first session after formation of the DMK Government last month. “In recent years, we have seen a slowdown in Tamil Nadu’s economic growth rate. This Government will make all out efforts to reverse this trend and usher in a period of rapid economic growth,” he said and announced that the panel would be set up.

 

Besides Duflo of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-USA, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, former Chief Economic Advisor to the Union Government, Arvind Subramanian, development economist Profesor Jean Dreze and former Union Finance Secretary S Narayan would be part of the Economic Advisory Council, he said. Based on the council’s recommendations the Government would take steps to revitalise economy and see that the benefits of growth reached all segments of society, he said.

 

The fiscal health of the State is a cause for concern and the Government would focus on improving it and bringing down debt burden and a white paper on Tamil Nadu’s finances would be released in July. Outlining the newly-elected DMK Government’s policy, the Governor said that Tamil Nadu is fully committed to achieving greater autonomy for States and at the same time maintain cordial ties with the Centre. Referring to work on the COVID-19 front including Rs 4,000 cash assistance to people, upgradation of infrastructure, Purohit said, Tamil Nadu welcomed the Union Government “heeding the voices of States” to revert to Central procurement of vaccines and supplying it free of cost.