The Economic Survey 2020 – tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday, 31 January – has projected the country’s economic growth at 6-6.5% for the next fiscal year starting April 1.
The growth in 2020-21 compares to a projected 5 percent expansion in 2019-20.
Authored by India’s Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian, the Economic Survey comes at a time when the country is facing the worst economic slowdown in a decade. Talking to the media ahead of the release of the Economic Survey, Subramanian said:
“Our team has done a lot of hard work. The team has prepared the second economic survey in six months.”
Key Highlights
The theme of the 2020 Survey is wealth creation, said CEA Subramanian, adding that it was key to India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025.
The Survey also highlighted the sharp decline in inflation, adding that it reflected a weakening ‘demand pressure’ in the economy.
Survey 2020 on Employment
The Economic Survey 2020 said that the share of formal employment has increased from 17.9 percent in 2011-12 to 22.8 percent in 2017-2018. A total of 62 crore new jobs were created during this period, the survey said.
‘5% Growth Projected for 2019-20 is the Lowest It Could Fall’
Weak global growth impacting India as well as investment slowdown due to financial sector issues had led to growth dropping to a decade low in current fiscal, Economic Survey said, adding 5 percent growth projected for 2019-20 is the lowest it could fall for now.
Growth slipped to 4.5 per cent in the July-September quarter.
The pre-Budget Survey said for wealth to be distributed, it first has to be created and called for looking at wealth creators with respect.
The Survey said government interventions seem to be ineffective in stabilising prices of commodities such as onions.
For boosting growth, it called for new ideas for manufacturing such as ‘assemble in India for the world’ which will create jobs.
To further make it easier to do business, the Survey called for removing the red tape at ports to promote exports as well as measures for easing the start of business, register property, pay taxes and enforcing contracts.
It also called for improving governance in public sector banks and the need for more disclosure of information to build trust. It also talks about dwarfism in the banking sector.
Economic Survey advocates 10 new ideas that benefit markets as well as the economy.
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