The commerce and industry ministry is setting up two more task forces to plan the use of big data and artificial intelligence in government processes and chalk out the country's response to the changing trade dynamics.

The top industrialists in the country have been quite reluctant in publicly voicing their concerns about the economy in all these years. The scene is changing now.

SJM co-convener Ashwani Mahajan, in a tweet further requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to see to it that the next CEA is one who has \"faith in farmers, workers and entrepreneurs of Bharat and is not on sabbatical.\"

He said he would leave the office within the next two months by early September, even though his contractual term was co-terminus with the government.

The Union Minister's statement came a day after Prime Minister Modi while speaking at the Niti Aayog's fourth Governing Council meet said that the economy has grown at a healthy rate of 7.7 per cent but the challenge now is to take this growth rate to double digits.

According to the SBI chief, privatisation may not necessarily solve the problems the public sector banks face. This includes the NPAs pertaining to public sector banks which stand at Rs 73.3 lakh crore.

Arvind Panagariya, who is currently a professor of economics at Columbia University, further said that predominance of scandals and NPAs in PSBs is only one albeit important reason for privatisation of PSBs.

Economist and former vice-chairman of the Niti Aayog, Arvind Panagariya,says India grew at an average 7.3 per cent in the last four years. \"Capital is not doing it alone as it has slowed down. So, employment must be growing,\" says the economist.

India's GDP growth has risen to 7.2 per cent in December quarter but a huge chunk of population is still out of jobs. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha says the job scenario has improved significantly, and that the unavailability of the proper data on all sectors gives an unclear picture about the actual job numbers.

Noted economist and former vice chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya expects the economy to grow by over 6.5 per cent in the current financial year. He said the macro-economic indicators have remained stable for the past 3 years with current account deficit hovering around 1 per cent and inflation moderating.

Government's top planning body Niti Aayog selected five students of IIM Calcutta in course of its talent hunt in the famed management institution this year.

The time has come to listen

Rajiv Kumar replaced Arvind Panagariya, an Indian-American economist who left the think tank yesterday to return to academia.

The tenure of the vice chairman runs concurrently with the term of the PM. Within days of Panagariya resigning in early August, the government appointed conservative economist Rajiv Kumar in his place.

Outgoing Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya has said the closure of 18-20 sick public sector units (PSUs) have gone \"very well\", even as he made a case for expediting privatisation of loss making state-owned companies.