CM seeks tips from economists for state

Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and his initiatives and reforms introduced in the country. Speaking at the inaugural function of the centenary conference of the Indian Economic Association (IEA) at Acharya Nagarjuna University on Wednesday, Naidu hailed the policies of the BJP-led NDA government such as demonetisation and introduction of Goods and Services Tax.

Chandrababu Naidu requested the economists to suggest ideas for development of AP, which has been facing initial hiccups after bifurcation. “Amaravati is logistics hub for south India. We want to utilise our large coastline for promoting exports,” he added. Naidu pointed out that the State’s growth rate has been higher than the nation’s growth rate during the last three years.

The Chief Minister said that wealth is being created in the State and it needs to be distributed among different sections. He stressed the need for increasing the per capital income in Andhra Pradesh which has been the lowest among all southern States following the bifurcation. “With knowledge, technology and internet of things the objective can be achieved,” Naidu exuded confidence.

About 2,000 economists from across the country are taking part in the conference. They include 55 prominent economists from India and 16 from foreign countries. He said the Banking Regulations Act has been amended to allow Reserve Bank of India to crackdown on loan defaulters while Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was invoked to deal with sick companies.

He further observed that the banks especially State owned banks have been saddled with non-performance. He recalled that the Non Performance Assets (NPAs) of Indian banks have crossed Rs 10 lakh crore, and at this juncture the Central government enacted the IBC to overcome the problem.

During October, Central government allowed Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion into State-owned banks as part of a broad plan to create jobs, raise income and quicken growth in the broader economy. The Centre has advanced the annual budget presentation for one month from March to February, Chandrababu Naidu added.

This will help States to properly plan and prepare their own budgets, he said. The Centre also merged the railway budget with the regular budget with effect from the financial year 2017-18. The country has been performing better in the ease of doing business.

“India will become one among three big economies in the world along with US and China and India. We are strong in English, have strength of skilled labour and demographic dividend,” Chandrababu Naidu observed.

He appreciated the efforts of Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus in developing women community in Bangladesh by establishing Grameen Bank. Naidu pointed out that following his suggestion, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee appointed Dr. C. Rangarajan as AP Governor after he completed his tenure as Governor of RBI.

“Geography makes us neighbours, history makes us friends, economy makes us partners,” Naidu recalled the famous quote of former US President John F. Kennedy. He also recalled Mahatma Gandhi’s quote, ““Combination of ethics and economics is deadly. We advocate ethical politics.”

“Good economics coupled with good governance guided by good politics will lead the nation to great heights. This is how Singapore developed achieved rapid development. PM Narendra Modi government is providing good governance and Moody also recognised it,” Naidu said.