JPC Talked to Economic Experts, Chairman Said – One Country, One Election Will Give 1.5 Percent Benefit to GDP – Amar Ujala Hindi News Live – Onoe: JPC spoke to economic experts, speaking to economic experts

The committee heard the views of 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya, economist Dr. Surjeet Bhalla and former vice -chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. BJP MP Chaudhary said that almost every year elections are held in the country. If the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are held simultaneously, it will save money. We called economic experts today. He said that PM Modi’s approach is that money should be used for development. This is a matter of discussion. Nothing is final right now. The next meeting can be held by the end of October.

According to sources, economist Surjit Bhalla has proposed a model of election in front of the committee in which elections of all state assemblies should be held together after about two and a half years of Lok Sabha elections. So that the frequency of elections is reduced, but still accountability is ensured and the mandate is investigated.

At the same time, Montek Singh Ahluwalia said that national and state elections should be held at different times as the issues of both elections are different. Whereas Arvind Panagariya said that a total of 13 rounds of elections are held in the five -year election period and on an average, there is one election every 4.5 months in the country.

He said that the constitution makers had opted to dissolve state assemblies ahead of time to hold the 1957 general elections simultaneously. If they had guessed that the country would one day find himself in a continuous cycle of elections, then they would have opted for an election system in the same way as the election system mentioned in the 129th Constitution Amendment Bill.

According to sources, 16th Finance Commission Chairman Arvind Panagariya said that the Finance Commission has also been affected by the 2024 general election and the state elections to be held after that. Due to this, the counseling process was delayed. Repeated implementation of the code of conduct hinders policy making. There is a delay in procurement and implementation of projects, and the duration of effective reforms for governments decreases. He said that the election model to be held once in five years provides a long and clear policy horizon for both the state and the central governments, which reduces uncertainty and creates stability. Which encourages private capital formation.

He said that the increase in government spending before elections increases the fiscal deficit as the government increases fiscal expenses to promote short -term development. When elections are held simultaneously, the central government’s subsidy can replace the state’s expenses. If elections are held in the existing structure, then the subsidy of the state will have to complement the subsidy of the central government, which will increase the total expenditure on subsidy.

Surjeet Bhalla said that in more than two decades, all the Lok Sabha elections have run for their entire period. The Lok Sabha elections every five years are not a problem. But repeated state elections are a matter of concern. The implementation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) also matters more for the state elections, but not as much for the Center, as the frequency and structure of the Lok Sabha elections is fixed. He admitted that there has been no increase in the actual cost of elections. However, abstract and indirect cost of elections is a matter of concern.