Manmohan to assist Punjab to revive post-Covid state economy

"I had written to Dr Manmohan Singh ji to guide us along with a group of experts headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia. I am grateful to him for accepting," Chief Minister Amarinder Singh tweeted on Monday.

"We have been working hard to steer Punjab on the path of economic growth and post-Covid-19 we will again focus on the same," he added.

The state on April 24 constituted a group of experts, headed by noted economist and former deputy chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, to come out with the post-Covid revival strategy for the state economy.

The group, which includes leading economy and industry experts, will recommend to the state government a short-term (one year) as well as medium-term action plan, including a fiscal management strategy, along with other policy measures to revive Punjab's economy.

The 20-member group has been mandated to submit its initial recommendations by July 31, followed by two more reports by September 30 and December 31, according to an official spokesperson.

The three-month gap between the first two reports will allow the group time to recalibrate the larger impact as COVID-19 unfolds across India over the summer, said the spokesperson.

The group has been entrusted with the task of identifying the key actions that are needed to help Punjab get to its "new normal" growth rate and restore it to a pre-eminent position.