<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54aadeb969bedd5c1f87050b-1200-924/arvind-panagariya.jpg" alt="Arvind Panagariya" border="0"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/Search.aspx?contractUrl=2&amp;language=en-US&amp;family=editorial&amp;assetType=image&amp;agreementtypes=pa%2ced&amp;p=arvind+panagariya">Pankaj Nangia/India Today Group/Getty Images</a>Arvind Panagariya is to head the government's new policy body.</img>India just took a big step to the right.
In a decisive move away from the country's socialist past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chose free-market economist Arvind Panagariya as head of a new government body replacing the 65-year-old Planning Commission, <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/01/05/india-economy-arvind-panagariya-idINKBN0KE0KJ20150105">according to Reuters' Frank Jack Daniel and Rajesh Kumar Singh</a>.
A Columbia University professor and former chief of the Asian Development Bank, Panagariya will lead the more decentralized "Policy Commission" (part of the new National Institution for Transforming India), which is designed to be more inclusive of states and regions than its predecessor.
Many liken Panagariya to Margaret Thatcher in 1980s Britain, but he rejects that view, advocating instead for looser fiscal policy to encourage capital spending in India. (Right now, the country is unlikely to meet existing fiscal targets, but a more immediate concern for policymakers is boosting sluggish growth.)
Though India has seen some swift changes since Modi's election last May&#xa0;- stocks skyrocketed, consumer confidence is climbing, and inflation is at a record low&#xa0;- many are disappointed with the slower rate of economic policy reform. Panagariya's appointment could be an attempt to change that.
Read the <a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/01/05/india-economy-arvind-panagariya-idINKBN0KE0KJ20150105">full Reuters article here</a>.

A Columbia University Professor Is Leading India Away From Its Socialist Past

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/56618468.cms" />The Indian government is evaluating plans to have a <keyword id="4073568" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-security-system">national security system</keyword> for poor and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=unemployment&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">unemployed</a> in upcoming <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=budget+2017&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Budget 2017</a>. The ambitious plan is still at a nascent stage and all pros and cons are being considered. 
 
The government is mulling over income transfer scheme. “There is a thinking... pros and cons of having such a scheme are being examined,” a government official told ET. 
 
Having such a programme can have its repercussions on the economy, especially on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=fiscal+deficit&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">fiscal deficit</a>. As per estimates, if the government plans to provide Rs 1,500 every month to an estimated 200 million poor, it will cost the government about Rs 3 lakh crore. 
 
This comes at a time when the government wants to reduce its fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP in FY18. 
 
On the flip side, the national security scheme can be a success, riding on the back of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=demonetisation&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">demonetisation</a> and the upcoming rollout of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=GST&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">GST</a>. 
 
Some policymakers are confident that Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts and the Socio-Economic and Caste Census of 2011 will facilitate a targeted scheme if a universal basic income cannot be provided. 
 
The idea has been gaining ground across the world. Finland recently announced a basic income scheme for anyone seeking employment. 
 
"My personal view is in favour of targeted instead of universal transfers,” Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya told ET in an interview last month. "With the Socio-Economic and Caste Census, we have a pretty good idea of who the poor are. So we can use the limited fiscal resources more effectively to combat poverty... I lean in favour of a strategy that places a larger volume of cash in the pockets of the poor than the one that gives cash to everyone in smaller amounts,” he had said.

Budget 2017 may include national social security system for poor, unemployed. Here are pros and cons if this gets through

Counter-terrorism and economic reforms will dominate the discussions amongst the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies at the G20 Summit in Germany next week, to be attended by Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>. The 12th G20 Summit on July 7-8 in Hamburg, a major port city in northern Germany, will also discuss issues like free and open trade, climate change, migration, sustainable development and global stability. The prime minister will lead the Indian delegation at G20 meeting, which will also include NITI Aayog Vice Chairman and India's G20 Sherpa Arvind Panagariya. Besides, the Department of Economic Affairs Secretary will also be there to lead discussions on the finance track of the summit, Alok Amitabh Dimri, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Economic Relations) in the <keyword id="6374106" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-External-Affairs">Ministry of External Affairs</keyword> said. The summit will conclude with a joint statement by the world leaders. The G20 is the central forum for international cooperation on financial and economic issues. The G20 countries account for more than four-fifths of gross world product and three-quarters of global trade, and are home to almost two-thirds of the world's population. The "Group of Twenty" is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the <keyword id="6361754" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="United-Kingdom">United Kingdom</keyword> and the USA. Germany assumed the <keyword id="4709730" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="g20-presidency">G20 Presidency</keyword> on December 1, 2016. In a media briefing about Indian engagements at G20 Summit, Dimri said it will begin with a two-hour "leaders' retreat" on July 7 morning where the theme of the discussions will be counter-terrorism. He said this theme goes well with the prime minister's engagements with other world leaders and there was expectation that the issue of counter-terrorism will remain a separate thrust area as was the case with the last G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey last year. The summit will also include four working sessions, including on growth and trade, climate and energy as well as on sustainable development and labour-related issues. Dimri said Panagariya as India's G20 Sherpa has already been part of three preparatory meetings on the summit agenda and will attend one more such meeting before the world leaders meet in Hamburg. Modi is leaving for Israel on July 4 for a three-day visit and will go to Germany after that for the G20 meet. The finance track of the G20 meeting will include discussions on issues like fiscal and monetary reforms, climate finance and green finance. Dimri said open and free trade would be another area of focus at the summit deliberations, while a special focus on Africa is also expected as it was one of the key thrust areas for the host Germany's Chancellor <keyword id="76" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Angela-Merkel">Angela Merkel</keyword>. Besides, women and youth employment, gender inequality, re-skilling and health will also figure among discussions and outcome of the meeting. Advisers to the heads of state and government, known as Sherpas, have been preparing for this meeting for long. Asked whether Modi will also have bilaterals with any of the world leaders on the sidelines, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said any bilateral meeting is announced very close to the event. "There is a process involved in that... We will keep you informed as and when those things materialise," he said. On whether the leaders' retreat on counter-terrorism would also include issues like cross-border terror threats, Dimri said one has to understand that the summit was not taking place in any regional context and it was a global summit. He further observed that the summit was taking place in Germany and it was more logical that the events in Europe would figure with regard to counter-terrorism related discussions. He also clarified that the leaders' retreat was not a formal session and the Chair (Germany) has decided to pull aside the world leaders for two hours for this retreat before opening of the Summit on the subject of counter-terrorism. "This shows the significance the world leaders attach to this issue," he said, while clarifying it was not one of the formal sessions where discussions happen as per the agenda and here the world leaders will interact with each other in in "very intimate surroundings". At the same time, some outcome should be expected as the leaders would be discussing this important issue, he said. On whether India can expect support on CCIT (Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism) -- its key anti-terror initiative at UN --- Dimri replied in affirmative, and said the CCIT has been there in most of the bilateral or multilateral documents. Asked whether India was prepared to counter, if China talks about its OBOR (One Belt, One Road) initiative, Dimri said one needs to understand such summits do not involve the leaders going and speaking at their own volition as there are fixed agenda points for discussions that get finalised after rounds of meetings by Sherpas. "These are not one-off meetings and have been preceded by a number of meetings through the year, including of working groups, meetings of Sherpas and they have bunched up agenda from multiple streams...and OBOR has not been discussed so far," he said.

PM Narendra Modi, world leaders to discuss counter-terrorism at G20 Summit

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/55919995.cms" /> 
The Chief Ministers' panel on digital payments has asked government to roll out from December 25 a more user friendly version of USSD or *99#, which is used on feature mobile phones for making cashless payments as cash crunch due to demonetisation continues, as per an agency news report. 
 
"Upgraded version of USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) should be rolled out by December 25, 2016," suggested the panel on adoption of digital payments in its recommendation submitted to the Finance Ministry. 
 
According to an official statement today, the panel, whose convener is Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, has suggested that the procedure for simplified Know Your Customer (KYC) using Aadhaar needs to be adopted. 
 
The second meeting of the committee was held on Friday at NITI Aayog. 
 
The meeting followed the deliberations held by Naidu, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya with the Governor and senior management of RBI and CMDs of major private and public sector banks on Thursday in Mumbai. 
 
The Maharashtra government informed the meeting that it was introducing an Aadhaar Bill in the legislative assembly to give legal status to the use of Aadhaar number for various purposes. 
 
It also informed that it had launched a major campaign to promote digital transactions. 
 
Madhya Pradesh reported that it had initiated a major programme to digitise the transactions in state-owned mundies. 
 
Odisha pointed out that the state was deficient in financial infrastructure including bank branches, bank correspondent, Internpenetration and mobile phones. 
 
While noting that RBI and banks are largely supportive of the measures to promote digital transactions, the panel suggested steps including easing the digital payment operations at the level of merchant. 
 
It said that UIDAI would shortly roll out the common Android-based Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) application developed in collaboration with TCS that can be downloaded by the merchants. 
 
In order to use this application for carrying out cashless transactions, merchants will need a smartphone and a fingerprint scanner. 
 
Transactions on this application can be done without any card or PIN. The application would be made available to all banks and the banks would encourage merchants in their vicinity to adopt this application, it said. 
 
The panel suggested that RBI should allow authentication through iris scanner and One Time Password (OTP) for AEPS and there should be no charge on AEPS transactions.

​ Chief Ministers' panel demands more user friendly version of cashless transactions

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/57293879.cms" /> The European Union said it is prepared to accommodate more Indian IT professionals and denounced any form of protectionism in global trade, in the midst of anxiety in India over the Trump administration's possible clampdown on <keyword id="6358043" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="H1B-visa">H1B visa</keyword>. 
 
Pushing for more profound trade ties with India, a delegation of European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs additionally expressed "regret" over failure by both sides to continue the slowed down discourse to firm the long-pending EU-India trade and speculation settlement. 
 Criticising the new US government's protectionist rhetoric which triggered fears in Europe as well, head of the delegation <keyword id="333939" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="David-McAllister">David McAllister</keyword> said Europe is "open" for allowing more Indian professionals who are high on demand. 
 
"Europe is open for people with high demand. Indian people are highly skilled. Our IT sector would not have been successful if we did not have skilled professionals from India," he said. 
 
Soon after taking over last month, Trump had decided to overhaul the work visa programs like the H-1B and L1, a move that will adversely hit the lifeline of Indian tech firms and professionals in the US. 
 
Pressing for early resumption of negotiations for the EU -India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), McAllister said the delegation urged the Indian leaders to resume the talks as the pact will significantly boost two-way trade. 
 
"We deeply regret that we are not being able to move ahead. We will use the visit to call for resumption of talks for the agreement," he told reporters. 
 The EU delegation, the second one here, will hold talks with a number of Union Ministers, National Security Adviser <keyword id="115253" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ajit-Doval">Ajit Doval</keyword>, the Vice Chairman of NITI Ayog Arvind Panagariya and Lok Sabha Speaker <keyword id="6354934" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sumitra-Mahajan">Sumitra Mahajan</keyword> among others. 
 An <keyword id="1973515" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="European-Parliament-delegation">European Parliament Delegation</keyword> for relations with India is also in the country and it had strongly sought resumption of talks for the trade pact during its meetings with <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> Arun Jaitley and Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. 
 
The BTIA talks have been stalled since May 2013, when both sides failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for IT sector. 
 
Launched in June 2007, negotiations for the proposed agreement have witnessed many hurdles as both the sides have major differences on crucial issues. 
 
Delegation member Urmas Paet said the EU would like to have the trade pact with India on the lines of the recently concluded EU-Canada trade deal, which features a new mechanism on investment protection and dispute settlement. 
 
India has already made it clear that it will not allow investment to become part of any global agreement that allows investors to challenge governments in an international tribunal. 
 
In the EU-India Summit in Brussels last year, the two sides had failed to make any announcement on resumption of the negotiations as many bottlenecks still remain.

You Searched For "arvind panagariya" and got 5 results

A Columbia University Professor Is Leading India Away From Its Socialist Past

Portia Crowe

Budget 2017 may include national social security system for poor, unemployed. Here are pros and cons if this gets through

BI India Bureau

PM Narendra Modi, world leaders to discuss counter-terrorism at G20 Summit

BI India Bureau

Chief Ministers' panel demands more user friendly version of cashless transactions

BI India Bureau

EU welcomes Indian professionals in Europe after Trump’s clampdown on H1B visa

BI India Bureau

You Searched For "arvind panagariya" and got 5 results

A Columbia University Professor Is Leading India Away From Its Socialist Past

Portia Crowe

Budget 2017 may include national social security system for poor, unemployed. Here are pros and cons if this gets through

BI India Bureau

PM Narendra Modi, world leaders to discuss counter-terrorism at G20 Summit

BI India Bureau

​ Chief Ministers' panel demands more user friendly version of cashless transactions

BI India Bureau

EU welcomes Indian professionals in Europe after Trump’s clampdown on H1B visa

BI India Bureau

Chief Ministers' panel demands more user friendly version of cashless transactions