The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the officers should use their academic knowledge to find innovative ideas for today’s India accounting for the diversities in human, geographical and local aspects.  She emphasized that economic models may not be limited to numbers but should incorporate the unpredictability of human behaviour. The Finance Minister, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman was addressing the Probationers and Officer-trainees of Indian Economic Service (IES) when they called on her in her Office in North Block in New Delhi today. The Minister encouraged the probationers to be not restricted to the micro terms of reference of their project at hand but keep a bird’s eye view to have a broad based outlook on the economy. She urged them to keep themselves updated with current domestic and global economic trends so that they can act as credible data source points for the Government at all levels of their careers.

Earlier, a Group of 15 Officers from 2017 Batch and 12 Officer-trainees of 2018 Batch of the Indian Economic Service (IES) called on the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and the Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur today at North Block in New Delhi. The Officers were accompanied by Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), Dr. Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian and Adviser, IES Cadre Sh. Arun Kumar Jha among others.

Earlier, addressing the probationers and Officer-trainees, the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Anurag Thakur said that the Group of young economists who have recently joined the Government would become a part of the in-house specialist cadre of economists. The IES carry out in-depth research and analysis, provide specialist inputs on various macro issues and sector specific diverse economic issues. He said that IES officers should provide fresh ideas and suggestions which can be of great use to the Government.

In-house specialist cadre: officers urged to apply academic knowledge and provide broad-based economic insights and stay updated on trends. Officers should apply academic training to generate innovative, context-sensitive economic ideas that reflect human, geographical and local diversity and the unpredictability of human behaviour; they must adopt a broad-based outlook beyond narrow project terms, stay updated on domestic and global trends, and act as credible data and advice sources. The Indian Economic Service functions as an in-house specialist cadre tasked with in-depth research, macro and sectoral analysis, and provision of specialist inputs to inform government policy, with expectation that officers contribute fresh, practical suggestions throughout their careers.