New Delhi: The Punjab government Saturday appointed a high-level committee under economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia to develop a medium- to long-term recovery strategy for the state in light of the economic impact of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Ahluwalia, who served as chief of the erstwhile Planning Commission, will be one of 20 members of the group. Other members include renowned economists like M. Govinda Rao, a former member of the PM’s economic advisory council, Rathin Roy, the director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), Ashok Gulati, Infosys Chair Professor for Agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), and Devesh Kapur, a professor at the US’ Johns Hopkins University.
According to an order signed by state Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, the group will “recommend to the government a medium-term (one-year) as well as long-term action plan… to revive the state’s economy in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis”.
The action plan, it said, would include “a fiscal management strategy along with other policy measures”.
“The objective should be to identify the key actions that are needed to get Punjab to its ‘new normal’ growth rate and restore it to a pre-eminent position in the country and globally,” the order added.
The panel has been asked to submit its initial recommendations by 31 July, and a “second report” by 30 September. The group is expected to file its final report by the end of the year.
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‘Lockdown has caused serious damage’
The Covid-19 lockdown in Punjab was imposed on 23 March, two days before the national shutdown kicked in.
According to a source in the Punjab government, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had made the decision to form an expert panel very early into the crisis after seeking approval from Ahluwalia.
“It has been very clear to the state government right from the beginning that we will need expert advice to tide over this crisis,” the source said. “The lockdown has caused serious damage to the economy, and the thinking in the state government is that it should be gradually lifted now, but we want to go by expert advice on what course to adopt.”
A similar committee has also been constituted in Rajasthan, which is also led by the Congress, under former finance secretary Arvind Mayaram.
An earlier version of the report erroneously said Punjab was the first state to form a committee to advise the government on economic recovery in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. The error is regretted.
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