This Article is From Jul 04, 2019

Top 10 Takeaways From The Economic Survey 2019

Economic Survey: The government on Thursday said it is expecting a 7 per cent growth in the current financial year - up from the 6.8 per cent recorded in the last financial year.

Advertisement
All India Edited by

The India Economic Survey 2019 was tabled in parliament by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Highlights

  • Amid slowdown of economy, government said it's expecting 7% growth
  • India will face challenge on the fiscal front, says Economic Survey
  • The survey puts emphasis on fiscal discipline and investments
Amid a slowdown of economy, the government on Thursday said it is expecting a 7 per cent growth in the current financial year - up from the 6.8 per cent recorded in the last financial year. The Economic Survey 2019, prepared by Chief Economic Advisor K Subramanian and tabled in parliament by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman - presented a blueprint to reach Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of a 5-trillion dollar economy. After the presentation, PM Modi tweeted, "The #EconomicSurvey2019 outlines a vision to achieve a $5 Trillion economy. It also depicts the gains from advancement in the social sector, adoption of technology and energy security."

Here are the Top 10 takeaways from the India Economic Survey 2019:

  1. The Economic Survey 2019 predicts a 7 per cent growth, but says the country needs to register 8 per cent growth to double the economy to $5 trillion in 5 years.

  2. According to the survey, in the coming months, India will face challenge on the fiscal front following the economic slowdown that's expected to impact tax collections amid rising state expenditure on the farm sector.

  3. The other challenges will include oil prices after Iran sanctions, below-target revenue from the Goods and Services Tax, sourcing funds for big schemes, farmer's income and healthcare.

  4. The survey puts emphasis on fiscal consolidation and fiscal discipline and investments, especially private investments, as the growth driver.  Private investment is the key driver for demand, capacity, labour productivity, new technology, creative destruction and job creation, the Economic Survey said.

  5. The Economic Survey has laid out a blueprint for growth and jobs for the coming five years, drawing on the initiatives by the NDA 1 government. It has also flagged fiscal devolution and federalism, expenditure reform, policies for micro, small and medium enterprises, the Goods and Services Tax and the reform of direct taxes.

  6. Advertisement
  7. Pointing out a demographic change, the Chief Economic Advisor said, "longevity of people is increasing, we have to think about increasing the retirement age".

  8. Regarding the minimum wage rules, the survey said currently, it doesn't cover one in every three workers. "Minimum wages should cover all workers, irrespective of any wage ceiling... it should be fixed for four categories-unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled," the survey said.

  9. The survey also advised using insights from behavioural economics to create an aspirational agenda for social change. Under this, the government's flagship "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' can become 'BADLAV' (Beti Aapki Dhan Lakshmi Aur Vijay Lakshmi), or from 'Swachh Bharat', the focus can shift to 'Sundar Bharat'.

  10. The Economic Survey also mentioned the big challenge posed by climate change on India's farm sector and water resources. "The issues relating to water availability are expected to be exacerbated by the effects of climate change and incidence of extreme weather events," the survey said.

  11. The roadmap to the 5 trillion dollar economy has been inspired by "Gandhiji's talisman - think about the poorest person, the common man", Chief Economic Advisor K Subramanian said.

Advertisement