NITI Aayog Vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar

State governments should not dole out "non-merit freebies" such as gifts and consumer durables beyond their fiscal capabilities, according to former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar

Talks of possible stagflation are "overhyped": Kumar

The reforms are aimed at making the country a better destination for private investment, both for domestic and foreign investors, Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said

Welcoming the passage of two bills related to the farm sector in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said the legislation will empower farmers and have a "colossal impact" on the future of agriculture in the country. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill were passed by voice vote, even as the Congress, DMK and Revolutionary Socialist Party members staged a walkout. "The Lok Sabha passes Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 & The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 - historic day!," Kumar said in a series of tweets. He further said the legislation will not only empower but also create a fair and free ecosystem for farmers and traders alike, thereby fostering a spirit of friendly competition and improving trader ...

On the coronavirus situation in the country, he said it is unfair to compare India's dealing of the Covid-19 pandemic with Western countries

Rajiv Kumar was commenting on the Budget proposal of FM Sitharaman to give the option to personal income taxpayers to remain in the existing tax scheme or opt for a new simplified tax regime.

'I am actually quite surprised by the market's reactions yesterday, going down 1,000 points', said Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar

According to 'SDG India Index 2019', Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim have shown maximum improvement, but states like Gujarat have not shown any progress vis-a-vis 2018 rankings

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar highlighted the need for the CCI to develop oversight capabilities on data-related businesses, so as to prevent the amassing of power in a single conglomerate

Many analysts have predicted fiscal deficit overshooting by at least 70 bps to 4.1 per cent given the quantum of the giveaways

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar also said there was no business of the government to hold back payments to companies.

Kumar accused former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram of creating a 'false narrative'

The government spending over the last four years has been a growth driver but the negative perception hasn't receded, says NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar

Amartya Sen, during a launch of the Hindi edition of his book, had said that India has taken a quantum jump in the wrong direction (backwards) since 2014 and is now the second worst in the region

He said China was at the same level of economic development as India 30 years ago but is now five times the size of the Indian economy

The new initiatives in the next 18 months, Kumar said, should focus on health and education sectors as these two are going to be critical for human resource development.

The financial inclusion will help in increasing household savings: Rajiv Kumar

While Bibek Debroy echoed his view in Twitter, Pronob Sen questioned Kumar's conclusion

Kumar has had stints working in the central govt and has served with industry bodies FICCI, CII

Centre appoints paediatrician Vinod Paul as new member