PM to meet plan panel top brass before G20

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who returned to the capital today after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar....

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,who returned to the capital today after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar,will continue to closely monitor the effects of the contra-cyclical measures initiated by his government to counter

the global economic downturn. As a prelude to the coming G20 Summit in London,he will meet the top brass of the Planning Commission and industry leaders to take stock of the economic situation.

To begin with,Singh will meet Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia tomorrow to deliberate at length on the present economic situation and will also work out the countrys position at the summit,which will work on securing a global consensus on tackling the downturn. Thereafter the Prime Minister will meet industry leaders on Saturday. Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi will continue to generate public opinion in support of her party while the Prime Minister would continue to focus on the pressing economic problems of the day.

As Indias role is considered vital in the global strategy to counter the ongoing meltdown,Singh does not want to leave anything to chance. Fully realising that the present crisis has a long-term impact on India as investors would take a long time before they regenerate interest in developing economies like India he wants that the flow of funds should continue at the impressive pace that was reached in the recent past,sources said.