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Economy little short of pre-pandemic levels: Principal economic advisor
Principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said the services sector was the most affected by the coronavirus-induced lockdowns, while the agriculture sector was the least affected.
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Principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Monday there was a revival in economic activities to pre-pandemic levels in the year 2021-22. He said even though the health cost of the second Covid-19 wave was much more severe, the economic cost of it was much milder.
Sanyal said India’s economy is estimated to have grown by 9.2 per cent this year after a contraction of 7.3 per cent in the previous year. “It is just a little short of where it was pre-pandemic,” the principal economic advisor said.
Principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Monday there was a revival in economic activities to pre-pandemic levels in the year 2021-22. He said even though the health cost of the second Covid-19 wave was much more severe, the economic cost of it was much milder.
Sanyal said India’s economy is estimated to have grown by 9.2 per cent this year after a contraction of 7.3 per cent in the previous year. “It is just a little short of where it was pre-pandemic,” the principal economic advisor said.
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He said the services sector was the most affected by the coronavirus-induced lockdowns. The segment (of services sector) which includes tourism, travel, and hotels is still 8.5 per cent below where it was before the pandemic. It is a sector that is still impacted.
“The agriculture sector, not surprisingly, was least affected by lockdowns of various kinds. This sector grew even in 2020-21 and again in 2021-22. The industrial sector did go through a contraction and now it is about 4.1 per cent above pre-pandemic levels,” he said.
“The total consumption is just shy of where we were before the pandemic. Consumption at the government-level has been reasonably strong, but private consumption still lags,” he added.
Chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said the Economic Survey 2021-2022 has been compiled by the principal economic advisor and his team. “The government has pursued a four-pronged approach. The approach – short term support to economy, especially to vulnerable sections during these uncertain times while keeping a firm eye on physical stability and at the same time never let go of the opportunity that a crisis provides to initiates structural and supply-side reform,” he said.
Sanyal further said growth in 2022-23 will be driven by widespread vaccinations, gains from supply-side reforms, easing of regulation, robust export growth and availability of fiscal space to ramp up capital spending.
Stating that India has become the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China, the survey's author said, “There has been a major boom in the start-up culture in India in last six years. There are at least 555 districts in the country with at least one startup.”
