
NEW DELHI: The much-awaited Budget session of the parliament kicks in with the tabling of the Economic Survey report in Parliament on Friday. The economic survey report, an annual document prepared under the guidance of the CEA, is a precursor to the Budget. It gives a glimpse of the economic health of the country in the ongoing financial year, and lays down a path for policymakers for the next year.
Even though the finance ministry and its bureaucrats maintain that the preparation of the Economic Survey report is an independent process and has no bearing on the budget presented a day later, the survey does prepare for things to come in the budget.
With the economy going through tough times – GDP growth slowing down, consumption and private investments failing to take off and employment generation facing unprecedented challenges amid the rise of AI and automation – the Economic Survey is expected to find answers to some of those questions.
“This annual publication (of Eco survey) is a definitive source for understanding the Indian economy, its challenges and likely solutions through the lenses of actual practitioners,” says Debopam Chaudhary, chief economist, Piramal Enterprises. He expects the survey to lay out a plan to create fiscal space for funding new capex; underline low or negative economic impact from freebies and make a case for one nation one election.
Lekha Chakrabarti, an economist and a professor at National Institute of Public Policy and Finance (NIPFP), says the Economic Survey will focus on “economic growth with equity” towards a Viksit Bharat 2047.
She says the country does not have a comprehensive document yet on the analytical framework and the road map towards Viksit Bharat 2047, and she hopes this Economic Survey will present that comprehensive framework and the significant components of our ‘graduation dreams’ towards a developed country by 2047.
Last year, the survey had famously raised the issue of threat of AI to job creation, and batter for investment from China in order to boost manufacturing in the country.
“…to boost Indian manufacturing and plug India into the global supply chain, it is inevitable that India plugs itself into China’s supply chain. Whether we do so by relying solely on imports or partially through Chinese investments is a choice that India has to make,” the survey had said.
It had hinted that private sector investment has not been commensurate with the benefits it received from corporate tax rates in 2019. The survey had raised concerns on large retail sector participation in F&O segment of equity market and has said India can ill-afford the economy’s over-financialisation at the current stage of development.