Economic Survey to be tabled today: What to expect

FM Nirmala Sitharaman. | PC-Moneycontrol

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey in Parliament on January 30, a day ahead of Budget 2022. The Economic Survey will be presented after President Ram Nath Kovind’s customary address to both the houses of Parliament.

This Economic Survey report is usually prepared by the chief economic advisor (CEA), but this year, it was done by the principal economic adviser and other officials as the post remained vacant following Krishnamurthy Subramaniam's term that ended in December.
What is Economic survey?

The Economic Survey in simple words can be called as an annual report card of the economy from last year which examines the performance of each and every sector, relays key challenges that lie ahead and measures to deal with them. It essentially lays the groundwork for the presentation of the Budget.

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The survey puts out economic growth forecasts, giving out detailed reasons why it believes the economy will expand faster or decelerate.

Over the last few years, the Economic Survey has been presented in two volumes. The first volume typically outlines the challenges facing the Indian economy, while the second volume is generally a broad-based review of the year gone by. It also details major schemes run by the government as well as key policies and their outcomes.

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What to look out for in this year's Eco survey?

GDP growth projections: One of the most-watched numbers in the pre-Budget Economic Survey, authored by a team led by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA), is the projection of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the next fiscal. The last survey, presented in January 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, had projected the economic growth for 2021-22 at 11 percent. However, India's statistics ministry has estimated the economic growth at only 9.2 percent for the current fiscal.

PLI: The Economic Survey 2021-22 may bat for the introduction of more production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes to encourage industry to invest in expanding domestic manufacturing capacities, as per experts. They added that the emphasis would be on more specialised subcategories within the 14 sectors for which PLI schemes were announced in the last two years.

Impact of COVID-19: The Economic Survey 2021 will be of particular significance as the country comes out of the pandemic-hit year. Economic activities were severely impacted as India imposed a strict lockdown in the latter part of March 2020 to check the spread of the virus. The First Advance estimates put out by the government suggests the economy may contract by 7.7 percent.

Recovery: The Economic Survey may also outline plans to put the economy back on track to achieve the $5 trillion goals the government had set in 2019. The economy, as per the advance estimates of the National Statistical Office (NSO), is expected to record a growth of 9.2 percent during the current fiscal, a bit lower than the 9.5 percent projected by the Reserve Bank.