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Niti Aayog
NITI Aayog's former vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar on Monday suggested the government to continue with zero-fee UPI transactions for at least a few more years until the currency-to-GDP ratio shows some tendency to decline, and then review the situation. Kumar told PTI that he is not in favour of charging any fee from merchants for using UPI for any transaction value, and the government should treat it as a public good with extensive positive externalities. "Their overall benefits well far outweigh the cost of Rs 20,000 crore that the public exchequer has to bear for maintaining the UPI infrastructure. "...so let's continue with zero-fee UPI transactions for at least a few more years until the currency-to-GDP ratio shows some tendency to decline," he said. While 96 per cent of unit transactions are less than Rs 2,000, it is estimated that nearly 66 per cent of transactions by value are above this level. "This presents a very significant opportunity for transactions to shift back to cash
India has made reasonable progress on economic growth, and it needs inclusive growth to become a developed country by 2047, NITI Aayog CEO Anurag Jain said on Friday. Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, Jain said some states have done extremely well on health and education parameters as well. "But there are certain states which are lagging behind, so we need to concentrate on them also," Jain said. He said India has a good foundation to achieve prosperity by 2047 through economic inclusion, where everyone has reasonable education and access to skills for gainful employment or entrepreneurship. "We want inclusive growth for becoming a developed nation ... At the same time, on the income side, when you measure the per capita income, it is not only that ... we need to ensure how many people are actually the lowest 10 per cent or 20 per cent of the population," Jain said. Talking about technology, he said nobody knows what the future is going to be like. "I am confident that what
NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok K Lahiri has emphasised that Ladakh's development strategy should build on its unique strengths, including its natural resources, cultural heritage and renewable-energy potential. He stressed that these advantages must be harnessed in a manner that ensures environmental sustainability and generates livelihood opportunities for the people of the Union territory. Lahiri was chairing a meeting with senior administrative officers, including chief secretary Ashish Kundra, here to review the ongoing projects and key challenges in infrastructure, connectivity, education, tourism, energy, water and employment, an official spokesperson said on Sunday. In the meeting on Saturday, Kundra briefed everyone about Ladakh's finances and highlighted major economic challenges facing the the Union territory. , along with sector-wise GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product), GSVA (Gross State Value Addition) and employment trends. Responding to the chief secretary's request f
Institutionalising the principle of behavioural economics can make governance more citizen-centric, outcome-oriented and fiscally efficient, Niti Aayog Vice Chairperson Ashok Lahiri said at an event.. While speaking at the inaugural Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards 2026, Lahiri said that the most important lesson he learnt from behavioural economics was not what a rational choice should be but how to make rational people actually behave. He said Jan Dhan Yojana and the LPG subsidy reforms demonstrate applications of behavioural principles to sanitation, gender equality, financial inclusion, and subsidy delivery. "India can institutionalise this approach through behavioural audits, field experiments, and the use of digital public infrastructure to test, measure, and rapidly scale what works. This can be Scale works. This can make governance more citizen-centric outcome-oriented and fiscally efficient," Lahiri said. The Cheistha Kochhar Nudge Awards, which have been instituted by New ..