New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) Former Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Thursday lauded the government's handling of the tariff issue with the United States, and said signing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US would be the "right thing" to do.

Delivering a lecture on former prime minister late Manmohan Singh's life and legacy at the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) here, Ahluwalia also favoured the lateral entry of young people from the private sector into governance, citing the example of Nandan Nilekani while introducing Aadhaar.

Ahluwalia said the idea of "Viksit Bharat" cannot be achieved unless human resources are tackled in a reasonable manner.

"Some people criticise the government saying the US is acting tough on tariffs and we should also act tough on the same. I don't think it is actually correct.

"In fact, what we are doing, which is trying to sign an FTA, is a very good thing. Some people do feel that it is the right thing to do," he said.

It is important to design a policy in such way that differences are erased amicably, he added.

Noting that there will always be differences on the way one designs the policy, "but the best way to do is encourage people to erase those differences and discuss it".

Citing the case of Nandan Nilekani, who was brought in from the private sector to introduce Aadhaar in the country, Ahluwalia said in future when we have complex things such as AI and cyber security, this cannot be done in a normal way.

"You should bring in more young people from outside. I think someone should do a case study on Nandan Nilekani and his induction as he succeeded," he noted.

"I think we under-estimate the fact that we are not using the human resources we have in a reasonable way. Now, what to do about it is another matter. But, whoever tackles this will have tackled half the problems of getting to 'Viksit Bharat'. If we don't tackle it, we won't get there," he said.

Ahluwalia also said that these are not typical reforms like lowering duty and tax rates, but these are big institutional changes.

"Elsewhere in the world, there have been revolutions in how the administration and administrative systems are organised. We have not yet had them," Ahluwalia said. PTI SKC ARI

India-US FTA negotiations are urged as a diplomatic solution to tariff disputes, coupled with institutional reform and lateral entry. India's engagement with the United States over tariffs and pursuit of a Free Trade Agreement is presented as a strategic policy choice to resolve tariff disputes through negotiated bilateral arrangements rather than retaliatory measures; negotiation and policy design are emphasised as primary tools. The note links trade strategy to broader institutional reform, advocating lateral entry of private-sector talent into public administration to address complex domains like AI and cybersecurity and urging administrative modernisation and improved human-resource deployment as complements to trade-policy initiatives.