PM Modi seeks expert insights from top economists ahead of Union Budget

New Delhi [India], December 24 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with a group of eminent economists and thought leaders in preparation for the Union Budget 2025-26 at the NITI Aayog premises on Tuesday afternoon.
The meeting was held on the theme "Maintaining India's growth momentum at a time of global uncertainty", a statement from Prime Minister's Office said.
In his remarks, Prime Minister thanked the speakers for their insightful views. He emphasised that Viksit Bharat can be achieved through a fundamental change in mindset which is focused towards making India developed by 2047.
Participants shared their views on several significant issues including navigating challenges posed by global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions, strategies to enhance employment particularly among youth and create sustainable job opportunities across sectors, strategies to align education and training programs with the evolving needs of the job market.
Multiple renowned economists and analysts participated in the interaction, including Surjit S Bhalla, Ashok Gulati, Sudipto Mundle, Dharmakirti Joshi, Janmejaya Sinha, Madan Sabnavis, Prof Amita Batra, Ridham Desai, Prof Chetan Ghate, Prof. Bharat Ramaswami, Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Siddhartha Sanyal, Laveesh Bhandari, Rajani Sinha, Prof Keshab Das, Pritam Banerjee, Rahul Bajoria, Nikhil Gupta and Prof Shashwat Alok.
Separately, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has so far held a series of meetings with various stakeholders, including with MSMEs, farmers' associations, and economists.
On Friday, she chaired a meeting with States and Union Territories in Jaisalmer.
The Finance Ministry conducts several pre-Budget consultation meetings annually with experts, industry leaders, economists, and state officials. The formal exercise to prepare the annual Budget for the next financial year has already begun.
As is the convention, the Budget for 2025-26 will be tabled on February 1, 2025.
The 2025-26 Budget will mark Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's eighth. All eyes will be on the key announcements and the government's forward-looking economic guidance for the remainder of the Modi 3.0 tenure. (ANI)