Modi discusses economy with Jaitley
New Delhi, Sep 14 : As rupee continues to weaken and fuel prices soar to record levels, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and top Finance Ministry officials to review the economic scenario.
Modi will hold another economic review meeting with key policy makers on Saturday to discuss possible interventions by the government to address the macroeconomic challenges arising out of the depreciating rupee and steep rise in fuel prices.
While Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg accompanied Jaitley to the Friday meeting, Expenditure Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha will join the Saturday meeting during which the Prime Minister will also review the budget, informed sources said.
The high-level meeting on Saturday has been called to analyse the economic situaion precipitated by record depreciation in rupee and unprecedeted rise in fuel prices.
The rupee touched an all-time low of Rs 72.91 per US dollar on Wednesday and closed at Rs 71.85 on Friday. Fuel prices, too, have been breaking records for some days with petrol selling at Rs 81.28 in Delhi and Rs 88.67 in Mumbai on Friday.
The Prime Minister may like to know the possible fiscal and monetary measures that the government can take to improve market confidence and economic scenario, officials said.
On Wednesday, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said the government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will take all necessary measures to check the further slide of rupee as there was no fundamental rationale for the rupee to depreciate to these levels.
Garg said the steep depreciation in rupee reflected overreaction of market operators and attributed rupee's correction the same day as proof. Rupee closed at Rs 72.19 per greenback on Wednesday after recovering from its lowest intra-day of Rs 72.91.
Modi is also likely to discuss issues related to fiscal discipline with the policy makers. Considering general elections next summer, some economists have expressed fear against populist measures and hope the government does not cut tax on petrol.
The country's fiscal deficit in the first four months of 2018-19 has already touched 86.5 per cent of the full year's target of Rs 6.24 lakh crore. On August 31, the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) said the fiscal deficit for April-July was Rs 5.40 lakh crore.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
