Economic Survey Highlights: Growth at over 8%, inflation easing
Sakshi Education
India’s economic survey pegged growth at more than 8 per cent for the next fiscal and said inflation was now declining,
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while also setting the agenda for reforms needed to further drive the expansion, prune wasteful expenditure and promote productive investment.
Tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and authored by a team led by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, the annual report card on the state of the economy said the growth should now rise further and double digit expansion was a possibility.
On inflation, the survey said, there has been a fall of over 6 percentage points since 2013, even as the external sector, which includes exports and inflow of foreign funds, was returning to a path of strength and resilience. Industrial growth has also picked up now.
It also had some good news to report on the farm sector. “Foodgrain production for year 2014-15 is estimated at 257.07 million tonnes and will exceed that of last years by 8.5 million tonnes.”
It also made a case for rationalisation of subsidies and said such doles did not appear to have had a transformative effect on the living standards of the poor. On the fiscal side, it said the government was committed to consolidation with revenue generation a priority.
Following are the highlights of the survey:
Tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and authored by a team led by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, the annual report card on the state of the economy said the growth should now rise further and double digit expansion was a possibility.
On inflation, the survey said, there has been a fall of over 6 percentage points since 2013, even as the external sector, which includes exports and inflow of foreign funds, was returning to a path of strength and resilience. Industrial growth has also picked up now.
It also had some good news to report on the farm sector. “Foodgrain production for year 2014-15 is estimated at 257.07 million tonnes and will exceed that of last years by 8.5 million tonnes.”
It also made a case for rationalisation of subsidies and said such doles did not appear to have had a transformative effect on the living standards of the poor. On the fiscal side, it said the government was committed to consolidation with revenue generation a priority.
Following are the highlights of the survey:
- GDP growth seen at 8.1–8.5 per cent in 2015-16
- Double digit growth trajectory; 8–10 per cent GDP in coming years
- Inflation shows declining trend during April-December
- Current Account Deficit (CAD) to decline to about 1 per cent in 2015-16
- To adhere to fiscal deficit target of 4.1 per cent of GDP; to aim for 3 per cent
- Committed to fiscal consolidation; to enhance revenue generation
- More reforms on anvil; Goods and Services Tax, expanding direct benefit transfers to be game-changers
- Food grains production for 2014-15 estimated at 257.07 million tonnes; will exceed last 5-year average by 8.5 million tonnes
- NITI Aayog, 14th Finance Commission to enhance fiscal federalism
- External Sector returning to strength, resilience
- Need balance between ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skilling India’
- Services sector negotiations at WTO crucial for India in removing many market access barriers
- Revitalise PPP model to revive investment
- Manufacturing and services equally important for growth
- Consumer inflation in 2015-16 to be between 5-5.5%
- Lower inflation opens up space for more monetary easing
- There is scope for big bang reforms
- Labour, capital, land, market reform and skills to be engines of growth
- JAM Trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, Mobile — to help transfer of funds to poor without leakage
- Shield domestic industry to promote ‘Make In India’
- Borrowings to fund investment, not for meeting expenses
- Food subsidy bill in April-Jan up 20% to Rs. 1.08 lakh cr
- Reform Railway’s structure, commercial practices, overhaul of technology
- Public investment key growth engine in short-run for Railways, but not a substitute for private investment
- More disinvestments on the anvil in current fiscal
- Under-recoveries on petroleum products to come down to Rs. 74,664 crore in 2014-15, from Rs. 1.39 lakh crore in FY14
- 4Ds — Deregulation, Differentiation, Diversification, Disinter (better bankruptcy laws) — to push financial sector growth
- Implementation of GST to boost GDP, exports
- Suggests medium to long term fiscal policy to target deficit, expenditure
- Global commodity prices to remain weak in 2015
- Ecommerce sector to witness 50% growth in 5 years
Published date : 17 Mar 2015 06:07PM