NITI Aayog constitutes 'Expert Task Force'

In a move to provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing India's exports, an Expert Task Force was commissioned on Wednesday with the newly-appointed NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar as its chairperson.

While the Indian workforce has high aspirations, a majority of the workers are still employed in low-productivity, low-wage jobs in small, micro and own-account enterprises. An urgent and sustained expansion of the organized sector is essential to address India's unemployment and under-employment issue.

An important strategy is also to enable a shift towards more labour-intensive goods and services that are destined for exports. Given the importance of exports in generating jobs, India needs to create an environment in which globally competitive exporters can emerge and flourish.

The taskforce will be required to propose a comprehensive plan of action to generate employment and alleviate under-employment in both goods and services sectors and low wages by boosting India's exports in key labour-intensive industries.

Additionally, they are expected to recommend sector-specific policy interventions in key employment sectors, and measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential.

Further, the group will be identifying and assessing key macroeconomic factors constraining exports, effectiveness of existing schemes to promote exports and suggesting methods to address these constraints, if any.

The newly-commissioned taskforce is expected to suggest ways to enhance the availability of data on trade such that it is reliable, globally comparable and timely, particularly with respect to trade in services.

Members of the task force include CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles. Leading economists and industry experts are also members of the Task Force, which will submit its report by November 2017.