Finance Minister Launches NITI NCAER Portal to Strengthen State Finances
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the 'NITI NCAER States Economic Forum' portal and stated that the platform will offer genuine data which would enable States to make more meaningful interventions, generate their own revenues, manage their debts and learn from peer experiences.
During her keynote speech at the portal launch, Sitharaman highlighted the need for balance in public finances, between raising revenue without putting a burden on the people, according to a statement released by Niti Aayog.
This platform is a step in the right direction in current times which will facilitate more interaction with States, she said.
The portal is a collective store of information on social, economic and fiscal variables, research reports, papers and expert views on State Finances for a duration of roughly 30 years (i.e 1990-91 to 2022-23).
The portal will enable an understanding of macro, fiscal, demographic and socio-economic trends; easily accessible data in user-friendly format and will also meet the persistent requirement of bringing sectoral data together in one location, the Finance Minister's Office tweeted on X.
It will also enable benchmarking the data of each State with the data of other States and national figures.
It shall also give a platform to policymakers, researchers and others interested in referencing the data for informed debate and discussion.
Director General National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Dr. Poonam Gupta during her presentation on the portal pointed to the state's fiscal path as being heterogeneous.
She emphasized the importance of having a portal with complete information of all States and thus, opening up a scope to understand other States' positions while taking educated policy decisions, the Niti Aayog statement said.
NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahamanyam said this platform will not only give out information for public awareness but will also generate fiscal awareness and learning among States.
