Stick to fiscal consolidation path: Economic Advisory Council

The Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday acknowledged that India is going through an economic slowdown but added that it must not deviate from the fiscal consolidation exercise.

"There is consensus within the Council that the fiscal consolidation exercise should not be deviated from," EAC-PM Chairman Bibek Debroy, also a NITI Aayog Member, told reporters here after the first meeting of the Council.

Council member Rathin Roy added that there was consensus that there is a slowdown. "We will examine its causes which may be multiple," he said.

Leading economist Surjit Bhalla, also a member of the Council, added: "We freely admit that we need to accelerate economic growth."

The debut meeting of the EAC-PM focused on identifying key areas to accelerate economic growth and employment.

"It is clear that this Council is focused on critical interventions related to accelerating economic growth and employment over the next few months, with greater social and financial inclusion, based on rigorous economic analysis," a statement from the NITI Aayog said.

"The Council views its role as also being a catalyst for action, by both developing and enabling action recommendations through different stakeholders."

--IANS

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