"Details of the Conference arrangements (venue, registration, reception, accommodation, boarding, excursion., etc., ) members are advised to contact the Local Organizing Secretary on the above mentioned address. For more details log on to http://indianeconomicassociation1917.com"
The growth rate of Indian economy has decelerated consistently in the recent years from 7 per cent achieved in 2017-18 to only 5 per cent in 2019-20. The outlook for economic growth is also clouded by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic that has affected all the segments and sectors of the economy. Investment rate, consumption and export growth rates decelerated over time. Gross fixed capital formation as per cent of GDP declined from 34.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 29.0 per cent in 2018-19. Gross domestic savings as per cent of GDP also fell from 34.6 per cent to 30.1 per cent during the same period. Exports have been stagnant around $300 billion since 2011-12.
The most significant and the fastest growing sector of Indian economy are services, trade, hotels, transport and communication; financing, insurance, real estate and business services and community, social and personal services account for more than 60 per cent of GDP. Agriculture, forestry and fishing constitute around 12 per cent of the output, but employs more than 50 per cent of the labour force. Manufacturing accounts for 15 per cent of GDP, construction for another 8 per cent and mining, quarrying, electricity, gas and water supply for the remaining 5 per cent.
High non-performing assets of banks (NPAs), low credit growth, global factors particularly for trade, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) problems, low agriculture and rural incomes were responsible for slowdown. Construction sector also showed slowdown. Policies have to be framed to revive private sector investment, consumption and exports. Fiscal and monetary policies of the government should also stimulate growth.
SUB-THEMES
For economic transformation, India should prepare for increasing urbanisation and raise quality of living in urban areas. SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) also include urbanization challenges. The Goal no. 11 of SDGs deal with sustainable cities. Some of the challenges of urbanisation are: creation of adequate urban housing and office space; prevention of slum creation; reducing air pollution, municipal solid waste management; provision of greenery and common spaces for outdoor activity; provision of health, education, nutrition, electricity, water and sewage; and provision of a vibrant transportation system. Migration is another challenge in urban areas.
SUB-THEMES
The development of efficient banking and financial sector is crucial for economic growth and equity. High non-performing assets of banks (NPAs), low credit growth, problems of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are some of the reasons for economic slowdown in the country. India recently completed 50 years of bank nationalization. There has been some consolidation in public sector banking.
NPA’s of banks have been increasing particularly since 2013. After demonetisation, banks have to lend to large amounts to NBFCs. They borrowed short term credit and started lending to long term infrastructure and real estate. With the crisis in ILFS (Infrastructure leasing and financial services), there has been liquidity crisis for NBFCs. It led to decline in consumption of the economy. Cooperative banks also faced problems as shown by the recent crisis in Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative bank. There is a need for better corporate governance in banks, NBFCs and cooperative sector. Information technology should be used for improving efficiency in banking and financial services. The government has taken some steps to revive banking and financial sector including recapitalisation of public sector banks. It also introduced insolvency and banking code which helps in insolvency resolution in a time bound manner. Credit growth for MSME sector also has to be increased. Improvement in financial inclusion also helps the economy.
SUB-THEMES
The widening of inter-regional disparities in recent times has been well recognised. All the earlier five year plans and the present NITI Aayog stressed the importance of balanced regional development. Policies were designed to provide more investments to the relatively backward areas. In spite of these policies, the existence of regional disparities is a serious problem in India. The degree of control of central government declined in many areas due to deregulation in many sectors of the economy. Various finance commissions also encouraged incentives for reduction in regional disparities.
State governments can take more initiatives for economic development now than before. Also, the role of private sector is becoming more important as compared to the public sector. Apart from central government interventions, state level policies are crucial for attracting domestic and foreign investments. The role of public policy is also vital for reducing regional disparities. In this context, it would be interesting to look at changes in inter-state and intra-state disparities and suggest policies for balanced regional development.
SUB-THEMES
Providing quality education is the key for raising human development in India. The goal on education under the SDGs requires ensuring inclusive and quality education for all. Improving learning outcomes in education is an important part of this goal. It creates equality of opportunity for all sections of the population. This is also important for reducing labour market inequalities. The government has prepared a new National Education Policy (NEP) for both school and higher education. One needs to examine the policies suggested by NEP. The draft report also mentions the need for higher public expenditure at about 6 per cent of the GDP on education. The NEP argues for transforming India’s higher education system to one of the globally best educational system. It also proposes to establish the National Research Foundation to fund, coordinate and promote research in the country. There is a need to suggest policies for improving quality in both school and higher education.
Technologies are important to improve education and skills of the population. We have to be ready to approach a fourth industrial revolution which includes advanced manufacturing, quantum engineering, 3D printing and robotics. Artificial intelligence and machine learning can improve the quality of education. The new technologies can also raise the skills of the population.
SUB-THEMES
SPECIAL SESSION ON ECONOMY OF RAJASTHAN
The special session of the 103rd Annual Conference will deal with the economy of Rajasthan. Papers on the same would be invited and are to be sent directly to the convener of this session.
Convener, Special Session on Economy of Rajasthan &
Local Organizing Secretary, 103rd Annual Conference
Head Department of Economics,
University of Rajasthan,
Jaipur-302004.
Phone: 9414654360
E-Mail: drsssomra@gmail.com
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
LAST DATE OF SUBMISSION OF PAPERS
Papers must reach latest by 15th March 2021. Papers received after the last date will not be considered for publication in the Special issue of the Journal.
Papers submitted by members after the due date may be allowed to present only after getting permission of the Chair.
SIZE OF PAPER AND NUMBER OF COPIES
The paper should be in about 3000 words typed in Times New Roman font 12 in 1.5 space, with an abstract of 500 words. Papers without abstracts will not be considered for publication. Articles should be typed in MS-WORD only. Research Papers on other formats, like pdf will not be considered. Kindly mention your date of birth in
your forwarding letter for the easy separation of papers for selecting awards.
Online paper submission is compulsory. While uploading papers online in the portal provided in the website www.indianeconomicassociation1917, authors have to keep in mind the following points.
The title page should remain separate from the manuscript throughout facilitating double blind review. The manuscript should not contain any identity of the author. The title page should contain:
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THE PAPER WRITERS
A hard copy of the paper containing a separate title page and manuscript as instructed earlier along with a CD should be sent to the General Secretary, latest by 31st August 2020 on the addresses given below.
Department of Economics,
28-A, S-3, Galaxy Vasantham,
5th Main Road, Vijayanagar,
Velachery- Chennai-600042,Tamil Nadu
Phone: +91 94449 32128
E-Mail: bpcmohaniea@gmail.com
Head Department of Economics,
University of Rajasthan,
Jaipur-302004.
Phone: +91 94146 54360.
E-mail: drsssomra@gmail.com