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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

During campaigning for 2014 general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Indian government had promised <keyword id="81847" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Job-creation">job creation</keyword> and <keyword id="6355127" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="employment">employment</keyword> opportunities. With just two years left for the term to get over, PM Modi now wants to fulfil the poll pitch and monitor the employment scenario in the country closely. In this backdrop, Modi will review India’s job scenario on Sunday and frame a policy to silence critics who say GDP growth has not translated into higher employment. Employment becomes an important concern for the ruling party as the previous Congress-led government had also suffered from the same charges. The official data is seen to suffer from some shortcomings in terms of the sectors it covers, its mapping of the informal economy and whether there is a sufficient distinction between jobs and self-employment. A government source told ET Niti Aayog vice-chairman <keyword id="6366253" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arvind-Panagariya">Arvind Panagariya</keyword> is going to make a presentation to Modi on employment data. A task force is also established by the government to assess the creation of jobs based on credible data. Recently, Niti Aayog rejected the jobless growth criticism, arguing India has no credible job data to allow such conclusions. Panagariya said India will soon have new job data that should be able to help policy-makers get a better sense of the employment scenario. Meanwhile, the Niti Aayog wants promotion of industries such as food processing, electronic assembly, leather products and textiles. It has also suggested special economic zones to push employment and attract domestic and foreign industry.

PM Modi wants to fulfil poll pitch before 2019 elections; to examine job creation scenario

With noted economist <keyword id="6366253" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arvind-Panagariya">Arvind Panagariya</keyword> taking charge as Vice-Chairman of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, which was announced by Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> in his first Independence Day speech on August 15, 2014, the <keyword id="46913" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Planning-commission">Planning Commission</keyword>, a vestige of the Nehruvian socialist era, has literally become a memory. 
 
The Planning Commission was established on 15 March 1950, with the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as the Chairman mainly to formulate a plan for utilisation of country's resources and definingthe stages, on the basis of priority, in which the plan should be carried out. 
 The first Five-Year Plan, launched in 1951, focused mainly on development of the agricultural sector and the emphasis of the eight subsequent Plans was on a growing public sector with massive investments in basic and heavy industries. However, since the launch of the Ninth Plan in 1997, the emphasis on the public sector has become less pronounced and it has been suggested that the Planning Commission should henceforth play a strategic and indicative role, assisting the Centre and State in carrying out broader economic planning. Subsequently, it was scrapped last year and <keyword id="2665691" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Niti-Aayog">NITI Aayog</keyword> was constituted following a Cabinet resolution. 
 Sixty-two-year-old Arvind Panagariya, who is named as the first Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog (in contrast, Planning Commission had a Deputy Chairperson at the helm), is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. A close associate of well-known trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati, Panagariya is known for his market-friendly views. He has earlier Chief Economist of Asian Development Bank and a Professor of Economics and Co-director, Centre for International Economics, University of Maryland at College Park. Holding a Ph D in Economics from Princeton University, Panagariya has also worked for <keyword id="6354424" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Bank">World Bank</keyword>, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in various capacities. 
 The <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> also named Sindhushree Khullar (who was appointed as the Secretary of Planning Commision in April 2012 and continued to hold the post even after the Modi Government scrapped the Cabinet resolution in August 2014 through which the Planning Commission set up) as the first CEO of NITI Aayog. 
 
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is NITI Aayog’s Chairman, <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/mbErel.aspx?relid=114338">appointed</a> economist Bibek Debroy and former Defence Research &amp; Development Organisation (DRDO) chief V K Saraswat as full-time members. 
 Also, Union Home Minister <keyword id="6355121" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajnath-Singh">Rajnath Singh</keyword>, Union Finance Minister <keyword id="42575" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arun-Jaitley">Arun Jaitley</keyword>, Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu and Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh are Ex-Officio members. In addition, Union Roads and National Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot are special invitees to the NITI Aayog. 
 
As NITI Aayog is expected to meet soon to review the 12th plan that runs up to 2017, there are concerns whether the government is going scrap Five Year Plans altogether. A section of economists has been arguing that the Five Year Plans should go along with the Plan Panel. Modi, too, has repeatedly said states should be given a free hand in determining their policies and plans, indicating that Five Year Plans are redundant. 
 
Another topic of debate is the classification of public expenditure in terms of revenue and capital, and plan and non-plan expenditures. Plan expenditure is spent on government programmes and schemes, while non-plan expenditure includes spending on defence, subsidies and devolution to states. The government has been trying to remove the distinction as it has become dysfunctional and an obstacle in outcome-based budgeting. As NITI Aayog assumes responsibility as the government’s economic think tank, one is curious as to how it would approach plan and non-plan expenditures. 
 
Given the multiplicity of NITI Aayog’s objectives—as a centre-state council, think tank and advisory body—its proposed structure seems to be cumbersome. Also, considering the untimely death of Planning Commission, which was not a Constitutional body and was not set up through legislation, one is forced to wonder about the fate of NITI Aayog, which too was not set up though legislation, in the long run. 
 
Image: Indiatimes

Will NITI Aayog Effectively Substitute Nehruvian Planning Paradigm?

The <keyword id="19897865" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="telangana-government" source="keywords">Telangana Government</keyword> on Tuesday requested the 16th <keyword id="20015455" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance-commission" source="keywords">Finance Commission</keyword> to increase the share of states in <keyword id="386992" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="central-taxes" source="Orion">Central taxes</keyword> from the existing 41 per cent to 50 per cent as over the years cesses and surcharges that are not shared with states have increased. Deputy Chief Minister in-charge of Finance <keyword id="21396591" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhatti" source="keywords">Bhatti</keyword> Vikramarka in his speech at the meeting with Finance <keyword id="19933395" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="commission" source="keywords">Commission</keyword> Chairman <keyword id="20016026" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arvind-panagariya" source="keywords">Arvind Panagariya</keyword> and members also urged the finance panel to ensure that states are given the necessary autonomy to tailor <keyword id="20109166" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="css" source="keywords">CSS</keyword> (centrally-sponsored scheme) programmes to their specific development needs. "In addition, we propose increasing the share of states in Central taxes from 41 per cent to 50 per cent. Over the years, cesses and surcharges that are not shared with states have increased, leaving states with a smaller share of total gross tax revenue," he said. Increasing the vertical devolution will give states the fiscal space they need to strengthen welfare programmes, address infrastructure gaps and prioritise local development, he further said. He, however, said it is not just a demand for <keyword id="19909031" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="telangana" source="keywords">Telangana</keyword> but for all states, ensuring a more cooperative federal structure that will benefit the nation as a whole. Bhatti further said the state government urges the Finance Commission to reconsider the use of per capita income distance as the primary indicator in determining horizontal devolution as measuring prosperity and well-being solely by per capita income would deny Telangana the resources needed to address the inequities that exist within the state. The state government is suggesting that the formula for horizontal devolution be modified to add at least a 50 per cent weightage to <keyword id="20149362" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gsdp" source="keywords">GSDP</keyword> (gross state domestic production) contribution. "A greater weight on GSDP would incentivise states to adopt reforms that improve productivity, attract investment and create jobs, ultimately contributing to the national economy. This approach would not only make states more competitive but also help reduce regional disparities, encouraging more balanced growth across the country," he opined. Pointing out that certain expenditures for schemes such as Rythu Bharosa, farm loan waivers and food subsidies are often mislabelled as "freebies," he urged the Commission to recognise these programmes as necessary investments in the welfare of our people. He mentioned that a large part of the state's resources is now being diverted toward debt servicing and hence requested the Finance Commission's support in either restructuring this debt or providing additional assistance to help free up resources for further development. The 16th Finance Commission, led by its chairman Arvind Panagariya, held meetings with several political parties, representatives of local bodies and industry chambers here on Monday as part of its visit to Telangana.

Telangana urges 16th Finance Commission to increase states' share in Central taxes to 50%

By Bijay Kumar Singh New Delhi, Jun 1 () The 'number one' challenge before the government, once it unlocks the economy amid the COVID-19 crisis, will be to put the financial sector back on its feet, former Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Monday. In an interview to , Panagariya further said that India is facing a health crisis that has led to a sudden stop of the economy. "To restart and return the economy to the pre-COVID-19 path, we need to overcome the health crisis. Once this is done, the main weakness we will need to overcome is the one we had left unsolved prior to COVID-19: disruptions in the financial markets. "Getting the financial sector back on its feet will remain the government's number one challenge once we unlock the economy," he said. The nationwide lockdown was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 for 21 days to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. The lockdown was first extended till May 3 and then again till May 17. It was further extended till May 31 and now has been extended in containment zones till June 30. The home ministry on Saturday said 'Unlock-1' will be initiated in India from June 8 under which restrictions will be relaxed to a great extent, including the opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places. Replying to a query on India's current macroeconomic situation, the eminent economist said that once normal functioning of life without masks and social distancing becomes feasible, growth will resume fast. "Can we assess quantitatively where the GDP in 2020-21 will end up? I think not. There is simply too much uncertainty regarding when we will be able to begin functioning normally without masks and social distancing. "It is all going to depend on when a vaccine against novel coronavirus and a cure for COVID-19 become available or when the virus would go into remission on its own," Panagariya, a professor of economics at Columbia University, emphasised. On how is reverse migration going to affect the economy, particularly, the rural sector, he noted that migrant workers will return to host states as fast as they left them once the government allows free movement of people and transportation becomes easily available. "The nature of migrant workers is to rush to home when their workplace is shut down and rush back to the workplace as soon as it opens up. "Just as the host states found it impossible to hold migrant workers back once their states went into lockdown, home states will find it hard to hold them back once host states unlock and resume work," Panagariya said. Lakhs of migrant workers in metro cities returned to their native villages after the nationwide lockdown was introduced on March 25 In the longer run, Panagariya stressed that the problem India needs to solve is the creation of a sufficiently large number of well-paid jobs for farmers who want to leave their tiny farms to seek a better living in industry and services. Asked whether he was satisfied by the pace of privatisation, Panagariya said, "Vested interests and socialist mindset have kept the process of privatization from moving forward even though the Prime Minister and his cabinet had blessed it as far back as 2016." He pointed out that COVID-19 has shown that the government needs to do a lot more in the area of health than it has been doing to-date. "But can it do so efficiently without withdrawing from other activities? Not in my view. "The natural activities from which to withdraw to focus better on health is manufacturing that serves no public purpose and is best carried out in the private sector," the eminent economist opined. Panagariya, who recently wrote a book 'India Unlimited: Reclaiming the Lost Glory', also appreciated the government for announcing numerous reforms that will help improve the efficiency of the economy in the medium to long run. "These reforms had been awaited for decades. I hope the announced reforms actually happen rather than shelved once the crisis is over," he said. When asked about criticism by some experts that India needed additional expenditure and not liquidity infusion, Panagariya defended the government's recently announced measures, arguing that fiscal stimulus, which works by creating demand, cannot go far when there are no workers to help generate a supply response. He suggested that while novel coronavirus is on a rampage, the government needs to ramp up health infrastructure to deal with the virus; ensure that the basic needs of people such as food and shelter are met; and provide enough liquidity so that solvent firms do not go bankrupt before the economy opens up. "Various packages that the government announced have focused precisely on these three items," he asserted. Last month, the government announced a Rs 20.97 lakh crore economic package, which included RBI's Rs 8.01 lakh crore worth of liquidity measures. Sitharaman had unveiled the package in five tranches, which included Rs 3.70 lakh crore support for MSMEs, Rs 75,000 crore for NBFCs and Rs 90,000 crore for power distribution companies, free foodgrains to migrant workers, increased allocation for MGNREGS, tax relief to certain sections and Rs 15,000 crore allocated to the healthcare sector. BKS CS MR MR

Biggest challenge to put financial sector back on feet once India unlocks economy: Panagariya

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

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

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

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.

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

Portia Crowe

PM Modi wants to fulfil poll pitch before 2019 elections; to examine job creation scenario

BI India Bureau

Will NITI Aayog Effectively Substitute Nehruvian Planning Paradigm?

Preetam Kaushik

Telangana urges 16th Finance Commission to increase states' share in Central taxes to 50%

PTI

Biggest challenge to put financial sector back on feet once India unlocks economy: Panagariya

PTI

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

BI India Bureau

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

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

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

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You Searched For "arvind panagariya" and got 9 results

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

Portia Crowe

PM Modi wants to fulfil poll pitch before 2019 elections; to examine job creation scenario

BI India Bureau

Will NITI Aayog Effectively Substitute Nehruvian Planning Paradigm?

Preetam Kaushik

Telangana urges 16th Finance Commission to increase states' share in Central taxes to 50%

PTI

Biggest challenge to put financial sector back on feet once India unlocks economy: Panagariya

PTI

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

BI India Bureau

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

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

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