Sun, Oct 19, 2025
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a meeting with the newly reconstituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on Monday. This is the first meeting of the EAC-PM after it was reconstituted in June. The meeting assumes significance amid rising geopolitical and geo-economic challenges posing threat to the country’s economic growth.
Other senior ministers, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, along with members of the Niti Aayog, are also expected to be present in the meeting.
While the key areas of focus would be employment generation and manufacturing with the aim to boost self-reliance, sources said that the council will also outline other specific areas that would require support.
Unsurprisingly, it is expected to thrash out detailed on-ground reports and prescriptions especially on export-oriented sectors, besides the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), textiles, gems and jewellery, among others, that are also set to be hit hard by the tariff war.
“A lot will depend on the EAC-PM and how it decides to steer through the economic challenges in the short to medium term,” a senior government official told The Secretariat.
According to a notification earlier, the council is mandated to “analyse any issue, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the Prime Minister”.
Former Enforcement Directorate chief Sanjay Kumar Mishra joined the council as a full-time member in March. The council, led by eminent economist Mahendra Dev, was reconstituted in June.
The council had no full-time head since Bibek Debroy's death last year. Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery was given additional charge of the body.
Modi, while delivering his speech on Independence Day, said that a host of reforms, including rationalisation of GST structure and rates, will be carried out in the next few months.
GST Reforms
“For us, reform means the expansion of good governance… As part of this effort, a next-generation reform in GST is being planned. This Diwali, citizens will receive a double bonus through the GST reform,” Modi said.
A task force for next-generation reforms will also be set up. This task force will assess and analyse the existing rules and procedures to understand the opportunities as well as loopholes. “The idea is to push and improve ease of doing business and ease of living,” the official said.
“Moving towards a two-tier GST structure will eliminate complexity, reduce classification disputes, and give both consumers and businesses the clarity they need. Fixing inverted duty structures and ensuring predictable rates will cut litigation, support domestic manufacturing, and give businesses the confidence to plan long-term,” Manoj Mishra, partner, Grant Thornton Bharat said.
Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings raised India's long-term sovereign credit rating from BBB- to BBB has also projected a real GDP growth at 6.5 per cent for the country this year.