E-Paper
Highlights of Economic Survey 2020-2021
The survey clearly points out the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy as CEA Subramanian said, “India focused on saving lives and livelihoods by its willingness to take short-term pain for long-term gain, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey on Friday that details the state of the economy ahead of the government's budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2021. The Economic Survey 2020-2021, authored by a team led by chief economic adviser (CEA) Krishnamurthy V Subramanian, focused on the state of different sectors of the economy, the effect of the coronavirus pandemic as well as reforms that need to be taken.
Here are the key highlights from the survey:
1. The survey expects the Indian economy to grow by 11 per cent during 2021-22 which is close to the growth forecast of 11.5 per cent made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This means that the Indian GDP in 2021-22 is expected to be at ₹149.2 lakh crore.
2. The gross tax revenue earned by the government during the period April to November 2020 fell by 12.6% to ₹10.26 lakh crore which can be attributed to the contraction of the economy.
3. Disinvestment which was targeted at ₹2.1 lakh crore has only been ₹15,220 crore, 7.2 per cent of the targeted amount which according to the survey happened due to the coronavirus pandemic.
4. The fiscal deficit has also gone up and as of January 8, the union government borrowed a total of ₹10.72 lakh crore, 65% more than what it had borrowed in the corresponding period in the previous financial year.
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5. The survey points out that the economy is recovering during the second half of this year. The government consumption is expected to grow by 17%, after contracting by 3.9% during the first half. On the other hand, private consumption is expected to contract by 0.6% in the second half, after having contracted by 18.9% during the first half.
6. The only sector expected to grow this year according to the survey is the agriculture sector which is expected to grow by 3.4%.
7. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections have also increased in the second half of the year as the monthly GST collections in December 2020 stood at ₹1.15 lakh crore.
8. Bank credit growth as of January 1 stood at 6.7%. Since September 2019, bank credit growth has been in the single digits.
9. Inflation between April and December 2020 stood at 6.6% in comparison to the previous year on account of high food inflation of 9.1%.
10. The survey clearly points out the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy as CEA Subramanian said, “India focused on saving lives and livelihoods by its willingness to take short-term pain for long-term gain, at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
