Patna,(BiharTimes): “Bihar is amongst the few states in India  that can leap-frog in terms of development,” said Government  of India’s Chief Economic Advisor, Dr Arvind Subramanian.  Speaking at the Economic Survey Outreach Session in Patna on  Friday he suggested that Bihar is bound to benefit from the  recommendations of 14th Finance Commission about the  devolution of fund from the divisible pool of taxes.

Asian Development Research Institute and IGC India-Bihar  jointly organized this one-day programme.
Talking about why it is not a prudent move for the poorer  states to attract financial aid in huge caches, Dr  Subramanian said the history of financial and foreign aid is  witness to the fact that development and growth cannot occur  in such states in such a scenario, and states in order to  surge ahead must strengthen their institutions and retain  human capital, he added. 

The Government of India this year is disseminating  information on the Economic Survey to a larger audience  possible and spread across the country, with the purpose of  making more and more people aware of the state of India’s  economy. “Before Bihar, the Central government has conducted  ‘Outreach Sessions’ in a few other states,” informed Mr Rabi  Ranjan, an Indian Economic Service officer with the Union  Finance Ministry. 

Opening the session, Dr Shaibal Gupta, Member-secretary,  ADRI, in his welcome remarks said “this initiative of Dr  Subramanian will help us, amongst other things, in fine- tuning the preparation of annual Bihar Economic Survey that  the Centre for Economic Policy and Public Finance (CEPPF) has  been preparing for the last nine years.” Dr Gupta is the  Director of CEPPF – a State government unit hosted by ADRI. 

Dr Gupta in his remarks appreciated the academic  contributions of Dr Subramanian. The programme began with a brief silence observed in memory  of Nobel laureate Professor John Nash, who gave the famous  concept of Nash Equillibrium to the world of economics. Nash  died couple of days ago in a road accident in New Jersey.  Professor Anjan Mukherji, Country Director, IGC, in his  presidential address said Professor John Nash was truly a  beautiful mind.

State Finance Minister Mr Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Principal  Secretary (Finance) Mr Ravi Mittal were present on the  occasion. Economists, intellectuals, and faculty members and  students from prominent academic institutions had their  queries answered during the Q&A session that followed the  presentation by the Chief Economic Advisor.

Economic Survey’s release precedes the General Budget  presentation in Parliament, and serves as one of the  significant Central government reports on the health of  India’s economy. The Survey is a unique study for it compiles  the data of all the sectors of economy to document the annual  growth story of India. 

Professor Prabhat P Ghosh, Director, ADRI, read the vote of  thanks on the occasion.