'Need to create jobs, sweeten new regime for personal I-T'

More jobs need to be created in the economy in line with its growth, especially for the urban young, and the new personal income tax (I-T) regime needs to be further sweetened to encourage its adoption, Bibek Debroy, chairman of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM), said.

In an interview ahead of the National Democratic Alliance government's pre-election budget on Thursday, Debroy said the only way to make the new personal I-Tregime more attractive is to reduce tax rates.

The challenges facing the Indian economy include disruptions to the global supply chain, logistics problems and maybe even crude oil prices, Debroy said. Edited excerpts:

On challenges to the economy: An area of concern is geopolitical uncertainty. It is no longer (between) Russia and Ukraine. The concerns.

include disruption of the global supply chain, logistics problems and maybe even crude prices. Secondly, there are still concerns about employment generation. Economic growth is happening, but a commensurate increase in jobs is not yet happening.