Latest news with #V.AnanthaNageswaran
The Hindu
a day ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Growing pains: Economic performance, Viksit Bharat
The data on India's economic performance in 2024-25, released on Friday, have something for everybody. Those with an optimistic outlook can rejoice at the seemingly robust growth in the fourth quarter. Pessimists can despair over the four-year low annual growth figure. The realist's assessment, however, is that there is cause for some restrained celebration, and more than a healthy dose of disappointment. The Q4 growth of 7.4% was considerably higher than what was expected for the quarter, and the fastest seen in an otherwise dismal financial year. The main drivers were the construction sector returning to double-digit growth, and the agriculture sector posting a strong showing. These are also two major employment drivers. Services, too, continued their steady and strong growth. The manufacturing sector, on the other hand, grew at just 4.8%, down from 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. There is a reality check hiding in the aggregate numbers, as well. The GDP growth rate of 7.4% was achieved in large part due to a 12.7% growth in net taxes. This bump in tax collections provided a statistical boost without which growth in actual economic activity would have come in at around 6.8%. The much-hyped 'Maha Kumbh effect' on consumption expenditure also does not seem to have materialised. Growth in Private Final Consumption Expenditure in Q4 — the Kumbh quarter — came in at 6%, the slowest in five quarters. Capital formation, however, grew a robust 9.4% as the government finally sped up its sluggish capital investments. Government officials and Union Ministers have expressed their satisfaction at the 6.5% growth in 2024-25, the slowest since the pandemic, saying it is still the fastest among major economies, and not bad in the context of a 'growth-scarce' global environment. All of this is true. Yet, 'not bad' is not nearly good enough for India. The race is not with the rest of the world, but is an effort to keep pace with the country's growing requirements. The Modi government, with its sights set on a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, must be held to a higher standard in line with its aspirations. If, as the Economic Survey points out, Viksit Bharat by 2047 requires 'sustained economic growth of close to 8% every year for at least a decade', then India is decidedly moving very slowly, even if in the right direction. In his press conference, Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran said India was entering a phase of low inflation and stable growth. Stability can be good, since it implies lower chances of growth slowing. Yet, it also implies growth is unlikely to accelerate significantly either. The government needs to consider whether this is truly a satisfactory situation for a transitioning economy.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Editors pick newsletter GDP growth at 6.5% in 2024-25, slowest since the pandemic
While a significant uptick in economic activity in the fourth quarter (Q4) of financial year 2024-25 pushed Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the full year to 6.5%, as per the provisional estimates for 2024-25 released by the government on Friday, this is the slowest since the pandemic year 2020-21. As per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, real GDP growth in Q4 of 2024-25 accelerated to 7.4%, the fastest quarterly growth in the year. It was still slower than 8.4% growth seen in Q4 of the previous financial year. Quarterly GDP growth in Q3 stood at 6.4%. Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran, in a press briefing following the release of the data, sought to downplay the post-COVID slowdown of the economy, saying that India has held its own in a 'growth-scarce' global environment. 'If you look in real terms, India's growth rate differential in comparison to the average growth rate of advanced economies was on the lower side during the 'boom era' between 2003 and 2010,' Mr. Nageswaran explained. 'The growth differential post COVID is higher than the growth differential in the 'boom era'.' 'In other words, in a growth-scarce environment post COVID and despite the rising uncertainties due to political conflicts and trade tensions, India is holding up its growth numbers better than many advanced economies,' he added. The agriculture sector continued its strong performance in Q4, leading to a relatively strong showing for the full year. The 'Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry & Fishing' sector grew 5.4% in Q4 of the year, up from 0.9% in Q4 of 2023-24. This helped propel the full year's growth for the sector to 4.6% in 2024-25, up from 2.7% in 2023-24. The manufacturing sector's growth stood at 4.8% in Q4 of FY25, the second fastest quarterly growth in the year, on a high base of 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. The sector grew 4.5% in the full financial year 2024-25, down from 12.3% in 2023-24. The construction sector returned to double-digit growth of 10.8% in the fourth quarter, the fastest in the year, and faster than the 8.7% seen in Q4 of 2023-24. The sector's full-year growth stood at 9.4% in 2024-25, down from 10.4% in 2023-24. Growth in the tertiary sector — a composite of all the services sectors — stood at 7.3% in Q4, in line with the growth in Q2 (7.2%) and Q3 (7.4%). Growth in Q4, however, was slower than the 7.8% seen in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. In the full year 2024-25, the tertiary sector grew at 7.2%, lower than the 9% in the previous year. The data released on Friday also showed that growth in household consumption quickened to 7.2% in 2024-25 from 5.6% in the previous year. Gross Fixed Capital Formation, a measure of asset creation by the public and private sector, saw growth slowing to 7.1% in 2024-25 from 8.8% in 2023-24. This is despite growth in this spending quickening to a six-quarter high of 9.4% in Q4. For FY26, the Reserve Bank of India has cut India's growth forecast to 6.5% from 6.7% estimated earlier for the current financial year on account of impact of global trade and policy uncertainties. In another set of numbers, the Government has met its fiscal deficit target of 4.8% of GDP in 2024-25 though total receipts came in slightly lower than expected, as per data released by the Controller General of Accounts. The Centre's total revenue — counting tax, non-tax and capital receipts — came in at ₹30.78 lakh crore in 2024-25 or 97.8% of its revised estimates for the year. Total expenditure stood at ₹46.55 lakh crore, also 97.8% of the estimates. The fiscal deficit, the difference between total expenditure and total revenue, at ₹15.77 lakh crore, stood at 4.8% of GDP based on the latest provisional estimates for the year. As part of the Centre's fiscal consolidation glide path, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had, in Budget speech in February, targeted fiscal deficit of 4.4% of GDP for FY26. Closer examination of the data show total revenue fell short of the revised estimates due in large part to a shortfall in miscellaneous capital receipts, that includes disinvestment proceeds. There was also a minor shortfall in tax revenue. The Centre earned ₹17,202 crore as miscellaneous capital receipts or just 52.1% of revised estimates for FY25. Department of Investment and Public Asset Management data show the government earned ₹10,131.32 crore via disinvestments in 2024-25. Corporate tax collection at ₹9.87 lakh crore in FY25 was 0.7% higher than revised estimates. Income tax collections, on the other hand, at ₹11.83 lakh crore were almost 6% lower than revised estimate. The Hindu's Editorials The Hindu's Daily Quiz Which of the following States has been under President's rule since February 13? Assam Meghalaya Manipur Nagaland To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here.
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
GDP growth at 6.5% in 2024-25, slowest since the pandemic
While a significant uptick in economic activity in the fourth quarter of financial year 2024-25 pushed GDP growth for the full year to 6.5%, as per the provisional estimates for 2024-25 released by the government on Friday, this is the slowest since the pandemic year 2020-21. As per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, real GDP growth in Q4 of 2024-25 accelerated to 7.4%, the fastest quarterly growth in the year. Quarterly GDP growth stood at 6.4% in Q3. Nevertheless, growth in Q4 of 2024-25 was slower than the 8.4% seen in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year. Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, in a press briefing following the release of the data, sought to downplay the post-COVID slowdown in the Indian economy, saying that India has held its own in a 'growth-scarce' global environment. 'If you look at India's growth differential in real terms, India's growth rate differential in comparison to the average growth rate of advanced economies was on the lower side during the 'boom era' between 2003 and 2010,' Nageswaran explained. 'The growth differential post-COVID is higher than the growth differential in the 'boom era'.' 'In other words, in a growth-scarce environment, post-COVID and despite the rising uncertainties due to political conflicts and trade tensions, India is holding up its growth numbers better than many advanced economies,' he added. The agriculture sector continued its strong performance in Q4, leading to a relatively strong showing for the full year. The 'Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry & Fishing' sector grew 5.4% in Q4 of the year, up from 0.9% in Q4 of 2023-24. This helped propel the full year's growth for the sector to 4.6% in the full year 2024-25, up from 2.7% in 2023-24. The manufacturing sector's growth stood at 4.8% in Q4 of FY25, the second fastest quarterly growth in the year, on a high base of 11.3% in Q4 of the previous year. The sector grew 4.5% in the full financial year 2024-25, down from 12.3% in 2023-24. The construction sector returned to double-digit growth of 10.8% in the fourth quarter, the fastest in the year, and faster than the 8.7% seen in Q4 of 2023-24. The sector's full-year growth stood at 9.4% in 2024-25, down from 10.4% in 2023-24. Growth in the tertiary sector — a composite of all the services sectors — stood at 7.3% in Q4, in line with the growth in Q2 (7.2%) and Q3 (7.4%). Growth in Q4, however, was slower than the 7.8% seen in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. In the full year 2024-25, the tertiary sector grew at 7.2%, lower than the 9% in the previous year. The data released on Friday also showed that growth in household consumption – as measured by the Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) figure — quickened to 7.2% in 2024-25 from 5.6% in the previous year. Gross Fixed Capital Formation, a measure of asset creation by the public and private sectors, saw growth slowing to 7.1% in 2024-25 from 8.8% in 2023-24. This is despite growth in this spending quickening to a six-quarter high of 9.4% in Q4 of 2024-25. Hand over Saeed, Azhar if serious about talks: Rajnath Singh Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that if Pakistan was serious about holding talks with India, it should first hand over Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) founder Masood Azhar. Speaking onboard INS Vikrant off the Goa coast, Singh described Operation Sindoor as 'India's frontal assault against terrorism' and warned that 'if Pakistan resorted to anything evil, it would face the Indian Navy's firepower.' He said the Navy had transformed into a strategic force, significantly strengthening India's maritime presence. 'It warns the enemy that India is no longer just a regional power, it is becoming a global power,' he said. Addressing officers and sailors onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier, Singh said the Pakistani Navy had not ventured out during the operation, asserting that had it done so, it 'would have faced the consequences.' He said Pakistan must recognise that the 'dangerous game of terrorism it has been playing since Independence' must come to an end. 'Now, if Pakistan instigates any terrorist act against India, it will have to bear the consequences and face defeat. India will not hesitate. It will use every method to root out the menace of terrorism,' he said. Stating that anti-India activities were being conducted openly from Pakistani soil, Singh said India was 'completely free' to carry out operations against terrorists across the border and at sea. 'Today, the whole world is acknowledging India's right to protect its citizens against terrorism,' he added, urging Pakistan to dismantle the 'nursery of terrorism operating on its soil with its own hands.' Regarding the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, an accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the Minister reiterated India's position on Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. 'Both of them are not only in India's list of 'Most Wanted Terrorists', they are also UN-designated terrorists… Hafiz Saeed is also guilty of the Mumbai attacks, and justice must be done for his crime,' he said. Responding to Pakistan's repeated calls for dialogue, Singh said, 'If there are talks, it will only be on terrorism and PoK. If Pakistan is serious about talks, it should hand over terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India so that justice is served.' Highlighting the Indian Navy's contribution during the integrated operation, he said that while the Indian Air Force struck terror bases across the border, the Navy ensured maritime dominance. Its 'aggressive deployment in the Arabian Sea, its unmatched maritime domain awareness and supremacy confined the Pakistani Navy to its own shores,' he noted. Singh said that within 96 hours of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, ships from the Navy's Western Fleet conducted successful firings of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and torpedoes from both the western and eastern coasts. 'It demonstrated the combat readiness of our platforms, systems and crew and our intent and readiness, forcing the enemy to come into a defensive posture,' he said. Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's position, the Minister said: 'If any terrorist attack takes place on Indian soil, it will be considered an 'act of war' and responded to in the same way.' He added that Operation Sindoor was 'not yet over; it was just a pause and a warning.' Commending the armed forces for their swift execution and strategic clarity, he said India was prepared for contemporary warfare, which now extended into cyberspace, data dominance, and strategic deterrence. 'It is a matter of pride that the Navy is moving ahead in these areas,' Singh said. A statement from the Ministry of Defence noted that in addition to INS Vikrant, Singh also embarked on other key frontline warships that formed part of the Carrier Battle Group and played a pivotal role in confining Pakistani naval units to the vicinity of the Makran coast. IndiGo to terminate Turkish Airlines plane lease agreement before August 31 IndiGo has given an undertaking to the DGCA that it will terminate its agreement with Turkish Airlines under which it uses the latter's two Boeing 777 aircraft and crew to provide flights to Istanbul from New Delhi and Mumbai. 'In order to avoid passenger inconvenience due to immediate flight disruption, IndiGo has been granted a one-time last and final extension of three months to August 8, 2025 for these damp leased aircraft,' according to a press statement from the aviation regulator. There have been boycott calls for Türkiye following its support for Pakistan during the military strikes along the India-Pakistan border earlier this month. The statement said that though the regulator had initially rejected their request for extending the lease arrangement beyond May 31, 2025 for six months, temporary relief for three months was granted on the basis of an assurance from the airline that it will terminate the agreement before August 31. The airline 'wet-leased' two Boeing 777 aircraft in 2023 to provide flights to Istanbul to overcome the impact of a sizeable grounding of aircraft because of issues with Pratt & Whitney engines as well as technical limitations of using its own narrowbody A321 to fly to the Turkish capital it had originally deployed. The airline was being forced to either take a midway fuel stop or carry fewer passengers because of weight-related considerations on the route. Supreme Court gets three new judges, reaches full strength of 34 The Supreme Court got three new judges in Justices N.V. Anjaria, Vijay Bishnoi and A.S. Chandurkar, who were sworn in by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai in a short ceremony on Friday. With this, the number of judges of the court has reached its sanctioned strength of 34. This will continue until the retirement of Justice Bela M. Trivedi on June 9, 2025. Justices Anjaria, Bishnoi and Chandurkar were welcomed with warm handshakes by Chief Justice Gavai after they took their oath of office. Justice Bishnoi took the oath of office in Hindi. The Collegium headed by Chief Justice Gavai had recommended Justice Anjaria, who was Chief Justice, the High Court of Karnataka; Justice Vijay Bishnoi, who was Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court; and Justice Chandurkar, a judge of the Bombay High Court, to the top court in a meeting held on May 26, 2025. The government had approved their names for appointment on May 29, in just three days. Justice Anjaria's parent High Court is Gujarat and Justice Bishnoi's is the Rajasthan High Court. Justice Chandurkar started his career in the Bombay High Court itself. Justice Anjaria was born in March 1965 at Ahmedabad, and hails from a family of lawyers. As an advocate, he had been a senior panel counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation, BSNL, the Union Public Service Commission, the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education, and the National Council for Teacher Education. He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Gujarat High Court in November 2011 and confirmed as a Permanent Judge in September 2013. He took oath as the Karnataka High Court Chief Justice on February 25 last year. Justice Bishnoi was born in March 1964 at Jodhpur. He enrolled as an advocate in July 1989. He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in January 2013 and became Permanent Judge of the High Court in January 2015. He took oath as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on February 5, 2024. Justice Chandurkar was born in April 1965 and joined the Bar in July 1988. He was elevated to the Bombay High Court Bench on June 21, 2013. Pakistan targeted civilian areas in J&K, and Poonch suffered most damage, says Amit Shah Promising to work out a comprehensive relief package and build more underground shelters for border residents affected by the Pakistan Army's shelling in J&K, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while touring the shelling-affected residential areas of Poonch on Friday, said the damage inflicted on the nine airbases of Pakistan by India forced it 'to come forward for a ceasefire proposal'. 'On the night of May 7, terror headquarters and other centres in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan were destroyed in response to the cowardly Pahalgam attack. Precise intelligence and measured targets by the security agencies saw no civilian deaths or the Pakistan Army being targeted. Though hundreds of terrorists were killed. 'Shaken Pakistan took it as an attack on itself. It proved before the world that Pakistan provides safe havens to terrorists. The next day, J&K's residential areas were targeted by shelling by Pakistan, with Poonch being the worst affected. It was only when Pakistan's nine air bases were damaged that it came forward for a compromise (ceasefire proposal),' Shah said in his speech in Poonch. The Union Home Minister said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new defence policy, India demonstrated that the response to such condemnable attacks 'would be of the same intensity'. 'It's clear any aggression or attack on civilians or on borders will be responded to strongly and forcefully. Our army demonstrated it,' he said. On the alertness and dedication shown by the Border Security Forces (BSF) during the three-day military confrontation, Shah said, 'The BSF has been vigilant during peacetime too. It was evident from the fact that 118 Pakistani posts were destroyed or damaged in minimum time by the BSF selectively. It will take the enemy four to five years to rebuild them.' He reiterated India's position on talks with Pakistan. 'Terror and talks, terror and trade can't go together. Blood and water can't flow together,' Shah said. Admitting that recent events impacting the development process in J&K, Shah said, 'J&K's path of development may have slowed down for a short time. It will resume its pace soon and no one can hinder J&K's development,' he added. He expressed his indignation over the shelling of residential areas and on the religious places, including a temple, a gurdwara and a madrasa in Poonch, by Pakistan. 'It was for the first time since 1947, Poonch saw shelling that also hit a gurdwara, a temple and a madrasa. The entire world condemned the attack by Pakistan,' the Union minister said. Meanwhile, Shah handed over job letters to the kin of those civilians who died in Pakistani shelling in Poonch and promised to work out a comprehensive package for the affected population. At least 14 civilians, including four children, died in Pakistani shelling. 'No relief or compensation can compensate for the loss of lives. However, it reflected the Centre's, the J&K government's and 1.4 billion people's sentiment towards the victims. We stand with them like a solid rock,' Shah said. He praised the J&K government, officials and elected representatives for standing with border residents and ensuring their safety. 'After Narendra Modi took over as the PM, we constructed 9500 bunkers in border areas and managed to save lives. Taking into consideration the recent shelling by Pakistan. more bunkers will be built to face any eventuality in the future,' the Minister said. In brief: Kerala rains: IMD declares red alert for eight districts With heavy rainfall continuing to batter Kerala districts, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday (May 30, 2025) upgraded the rainfall alert level for the State by putting eight districts on red alert for extremely heavy rainfall (above 20 cm in a 24-hour period). Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod are on red alert. All the remaining six districts are on orange alert for isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall. Indications are that rainfall is likely to taper off in most districts after Saturday (May 31, 2025). Only isolated heavy rainfall is expected in all 14 districts on Saturday (May 31, 2025). Some of the northern districts are also likely to receive isolated heavy rainfall till at least June 3, according to the latest update. Trump administration orders extra vetting of all visa applicants linked to Harvard University The U.S. State Department ordered all its consular missions overseas to begin additional vetting of visa applicants looking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose, according to an internal cable seen by Reuters on Friday (May 30, 2025), in a move that significantly expands President Donald Trump's crackdown against the academic institution. In a cable dated May 30 and sent to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed the immediate start of 'additional vetting of any non-immigrant visa applicant seeking to travel to Harvard University for any purpose.' Harvard University failed to maintain 'a campus environment free from violence and anti-Semitism', the cable said, and that the enhanced vetting measures were aimed at helping consular officers identify visa applicants 'with histories of anti-Semitic harassment and violence.' Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
Hans India
5 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Trust, deregulation key to achieve long-term economic prosperity: Chief Economic Advisor
New Delhi: Trust, deregulation and reciprocation are the cornerstones of avoiding the middle-income trap and achieving long-term economic prosperity, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Dr V. Anantha Nageswaran said on Thursday. Speaking at the CII 'Annual Business Summit 2025' here, Dr Nageswaran emphasised India's top policy priorities for sustainable development and economic growth. "Key areas include balancing energy affordability and security with energy transition through power sector reforms, addressing AI's impact on employment, ensuring fair income distribution, and focusing on education and skilling for the youth," he stressed. The CEA further emphasised promoting manufacturing and SMEs, enhancing food security and agricultural productivity, encouraging private sector investment, and integrating economic growth with energy policies and external dynamics are also crucial for a resilient and competitive economy. "The private sector's role in nation-building is crucial and necessitates a tripartite collaboration between the government, private sector and academia. To achieve developed economy status by 2047, the private sector must be socially responsible, ensuring balanced deployment of capital and labour," he noted. This involves fair income distribution, workplace safety, investment in research and development, and attention to mental health, among other aspects. On the macroeconomic front, the CEA emphasised that the IMF projects India to reach a $5 trillion economy by 2027-28. "Achieving this milestone and avoiding the middle-income trap requires improving living standards. Trust, deregulation, and reciprocation from the private sector are pivotal for fostering sustainable growth and ensuring economic resilience," he added. Siemens Limited Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sunil Mathur, emphasised the need to improve regulatory frameworks in the country through the adoption of best practices like Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for new regulations. CII Vice President R. Mukundan highlighted the need for transformational reforms and outlined a multi-pronged agenda for enhancing India's competitiveness covering issues such as adoption of a consultative approach to policy making as seen with the GST Council, investment in human capital along with physical infrastructure, improving the female labour force participation rate, significant increase in inhouse R&D spending, and moving toward sustainable growth.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
CEA Nageswaran cautions private sector about need to strike a balance between AI & labour
Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday (May 29, 2025) cautioned the private sector against the possible over-deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to the detriment of labour, saying that India was a country that needs eight million additional jobs every year. Speaking to gathered industry leaders at the Confederation of Indian Industry's Annual Business Summit 2025, Mr. Nageswaran said that the deployment of end-to-end AI systems was a business policy choice and was not inevitable, and that companies could decide for themselves where to stop AI deployment and instead use labour. 'Going forward, in our country, while we understand that competitiveness and productivity considerations would require an increase in the number of GPUs, artificial intelligence engines being deployed, etc, we are a country which has to create 8 million livelihoods every year at minimum, excluding agriculture,' Mr. Nageswaran pointed out. 'And therefore, we have to have policies that rely on capital led growth but also policies — and this is not just the government, but policies in the private sector — that are able to focus on labour intensive manufacturing as well,' he added. The Chief Economic Advisor went on to say that this is a topic, where, rather than relying on public policy actions, this dialogue has to take place within the business community and with the government. TCS chairman on AI-assisted enterprise Mr. Nageswaran's statements come a day after TCS chairman N. Chandrasekaran, in the company's annual report, spoke about how 'the rise of autonomous robots and AI agents promises a future of 'dark factories' and AI-assisted enterprise functions'. AI-powered 'dark factories' are manufacturing units that function with minimum human involvement. In his address, Mr. Nageswaran went on to cite a paper by an independent AI analyst in Berkeley, California, which pointed out that building end-to-end AI agents is a technological and policy choice, or business decision. 'You don't have to train AI end-to-end,' Mr. Nageswaran told the gathered industry leaders. 'You can decide where to stop, and where to deploy human labour as well. Striking the right balance between AI deployment and labour is actually a business decision choice and is not inevitable. This is something we need to consciously internalise.' The CEA went on to again point out that the Indian private sector was facing a challenge where the growth in their profitability has not only exceeded the growth in their capital formation, but has also exceeded the growth in compensation, which includes hiring as well. This situation, he said, was 'something we can ill-afford for the next 25-30 years'.
