India also wants ‘quality FTA’ with New Zealand: Amitabh Kant, CEO Niti Aayog
“India also wants ‘quality FTA’ with New Zealand,” says Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog the premier policy-making body of the Indian Government and a close economic adviser to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) is the new premier body that has replaced the former institution of Planning Commission and is largely responsible for transforming India.
Mr Kant has been closely associated with many new initiatives of the government of India such as “Make in India”, “Startup India”, “Incredible India”, and “God’s own Country”, which aims to drive manufacturing and tourism in India.
Mr Kant is in New Zealand as the recipient of the Prime Minister's Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2017.
As a part of his tour to New Zealand, Mr Kant has met with Prime Minister and several Members of Parliament and Ministers in Wellington to discuss areas of mutual cooperation between New Zealand and India.
Speaking exclusively with the Indian Weekender at the sidelines of a public lecture hosted by Export NZ in Auckland on Wednesday, May 3, Mr Kant spoke passionately about how India was transforming under the current government in New Delhi and laying out Indian expectation for an expedite deal on FTA.
Below are the excerpts of Indian Weekender’s exclusive conversation with India’s key economic bureaucrat.
IWK: Can you tell us more about NITI Aayog? What is the mandate and terms of reference of this new institution?
AK: This is a national institution for transforming India. It is a successor to Planning Commission, which used to be a five-year plan and has been done away with it. Now we have a 15-year vision document, seven-year strategy and a three-year action plan. This is a body which does all the ‘outcome monitoring’ of different programs of various ministries and presents the ‘outcome’ directly to the Prime Minister. This is the first time that the country has moved from inputs to the outcome. It is also a body which initiates several transformative measures such as driving the digital payment measures and many more things.
IWK: NITI Aayog has created two hubs Team India Hub and the Knowledge and Innovation Hub. As a part of the Knowledge and Innovation Hub do you envisage partnering with the vibrant Indian diaspora in New Zealand and harnessing their talent and energies in India’s growth story?
AK: Yes, of course! The Indian diaspora is very vibrant and energetic. Our Prime Minister himself has travelled around the world to build a partnership with the Indian diaspora. Niti Ayog will be delighted to work with the diaspora all around the world.
IWK: Have you got any specific plan or agenda for the Indian diaspora in New Zealand?
AK: In New Zealand, we have interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora in Wellington and Auckland. We realise that 180,000 is a big strength, and we get a lot of students here. It’s important that we keep them informed about all the schemes of the Indian government and that’s why we made some presentation to them in Wellington to keep them apprised of the dynamism of the present government back in India, and the vast number of new schemes launched recently.
IWK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi missed New Zealand when he was last time in this part of the world. When is he coming to New Zealand?
AK: Well, it’s for him to decide when he can make it here. But I am sure that he will decide in due course and plan a visit to New Zealand.
IWK: What is holding back NZ-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?
AK: From India’s perspective, FTA with New Zealand is important, and we are committed to working towards signing a deal. However, it is also important to realise that our services sector on which India puts a lot of emphases is also given due importance in the agreement. We are waiting for a good offer on services sector from New Zealand for us to move forward. The FTA has to be a win-win situation for both India and New Zealand.
IWK: New Zealand government talks about a high-quality FTA with India. What do you have to say about that?
AK: Sure, India also wants a high-quality FTA with New Zealand. Any FTA deal should raise exports of both the countries. We do not want a sub-standard FTA at all.
IWK: Can you tell us three main reasons that are holding back NZ-India FTA?
AK: No, there are no particular reasons. India is putting emphasis on services sector whereas New Zealand wants greater access in agriculture. This is being discussed, and we are committed to taking it forward.
IWK: So when should we expect NZ-India FTA to materialise?
AK: I think we need few more rounds of meeting to move forward.
IWK: There have already been 10 rounds since last seven -eight years?
AK: We will have another round of meeting where we will mutually devise a roadmap on how to move forward on FTA.
“India also wants ‘quality FTA’ with New Zealand,” says Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog the premier policy-making body of the Indian Government and a close economic adviser to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) is the new premier body that has...
“India also wants ‘quality FTA’ with New Zealand,” says Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog the premier policy-making body of the Indian Government and a close economic adviser to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India) is the new premier body that has replaced the former institution of Planning Commission and is largely responsible for transforming India.
Mr Kant has been closely associated with many new initiatives of the government of India such as “Make in India”, “Startup India”, “Incredible India”, and “God’s own Country”, which aims to drive manufacturing and tourism in India.
Mr Kant is in New Zealand as the recipient of the Prime Minister's Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2017.
As a part of his tour to New Zealand, Mr Kant has met with Prime Minister and several Members of Parliament and Ministers in Wellington to discuss areas of mutual cooperation between New Zealand and India.
Speaking exclusively with the Indian Weekender at the sidelines of a public lecture hosted by Export NZ in Auckland on Wednesday, May 3, Mr Kant spoke passionately about how India was transforming under the current government in New Delhi and laying out Indian expectation for an expedite deal on FTA.
Below are the excerpts of Indian Weekender’s exclusive conversation with India’s key economic bureaucrat.
IWK: Can you tell us more about NITI Aayog? What is the mandate and terms of reference of this new institution?
AK: This is a national institution for transforming India. It is a successor to Planning Commission, which used to be a five-year plan and has been done away with it. Now we have a 15-year vision document, seven-year strategy and a three-year action plan. This is a body which does all the ‘outcome monitoring’ of different programs of various ministries and presents the ‘outcome’ directly to the Prime Minister. This is the first time that the country has moved from inputs to the outcome. It is also a body which initiates several transformative measures such as driving the digital payment measures and many more things.
IWK: NITI Aayog has created two hubs Team India Hub and the Knowledge and Innovation Hub. As a part of the Knowledge and Innovation Hub do you envisage partnering with the vibrant Indian diaspora in New Zealand and harnessing their talent and energies in India’s growth story?
AK: Yes, of course! The Indian diaspora is very vibrant and energetic. Our Prime Minister himself has travelled around the world to build a partnership with the Indian diaspora. Niti Ayog will be delighted to work with the diaspora all around the world.
IWK: Have you got any specific plan or agenda for the Indian diaspora in New Zealand?
AK: In New Zealand, we have interacted with the members of the Indian diaspora in Wellington and Auckland. We realise that 180,000 is a big strength, and we get a lot of students here. It’s important that we keep them informed about all the schemes of the Indian government and that’s why we made some presentation to them in Wellington to keep them apprised of the dynamism of the present government back in India, and the vast number of new schemes launched recently.
IWK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi missed New Zealand when he was last time in this part of the world. When is he coming to New Zealand?
AK: Well, it’s for him to decide when he can make it here. But I am sure that he will decide in due course and plan a visit to New Zealand.
IWK: What is holding back NZ-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA)?
AK: From India’s perspective, FTA with New Zealand is important, and we are committed to working towards signing a deal. However, it is also important to realise that our services sector on which India puts a lot of emphases is also given due importance in the agreement. We are waiting for a good offer on services sector from New Zealand for us to move forward. The FTA has to be a win-win situation for both India and New Zealand.
IWK: New Zealand government talks about a high-quality FTA with India. What do you have to say about that?
AK: Sure, India also wants a high-quality FTA with New Zealand. Any FTA deal should raise exports of both the countries. We do not want a sub-standard FTA at all.
IWK: Can you tell us three main reasons that are holding back NZ-India FTA?
AK: No, there are no particular reasons. India is putting emphasis on services sector whereas New Zealand wants greater access in agriculture. This is being discussed, and we are committed to taking it forward.
IWK: So when should we expect NZ-India FTA to materialise?
AK: I think we need few more rounds of meeting to move forward.
IWK: There have already been 10 rounds since last seven -eight years?
AK: We will have another round of meeting where we will mutually devise a roadmap on how to move forward on FTA.
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