The Economic Survey is a report card of the economy and Volume 1 has been used by successive chief economic adviser’s (CEA) to push through reform ideas.
The government will present the Economic Survey for the financial year 2021-22 on January 31.
The survey is expected to project a growth of around 9 per cent for the next financial year.
This year, the finance ministry is expected to come out with a single volume Economic Survey, instead of the two volume survey that was released every year.
It is likely to present data for the fiscal year across sectors and will not have the policy prescriptions which form part of the main Volume-1.
Last year’s survey had projected a GDP growth of 11 per cent for the current fiscal year.
What is Economic Survey
The Economic Survey is a report card of the economy and Volume 1 has been used by successive chief economic adviser’s (CEA) to push through reform ideas.
Unlike in the past, some of the major reform initiatives outlined in the survey were implemented by the government this year to help the economy recover swiftly from the devastating impact of the Covid pandemic.
It is tabled in Parliament by the finance minister one day before the Union Budget presentation.
Who prepares it
Traditionally, the survey is prepared by the CEA. However, this year it is being prepared by principal economic adviser and other officials as the post of CEA remained vacant after Krishnamurthy Subramaniam’s term ended in December.
The government appointed Dr V Anantha Nageswaran as the new CEA on January 28.
Ex-CEA Subramanian returned to academia after serving a three-year tenure.
Nageswaran assumes role
Dr Nageswaran assumed office of CEA just days ahead of presentation of Economic Survey.
Prior to this appointment, Nageswaran has worked as an author, teacher and consultant.
He has also been a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India from 2019 to 2021.
Besides, he has taught at several business schools and institutes of management in India and in Singapore and has published extensively.
Nageswaran holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA) degree from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He obtained a doctoral degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts in 1994 for his work on the empirical behaviour of exchange rates.
He was the Dean of the IFMR Graduate School of Business and a distinguished Visiting Professor of Economics at Krea University.
Economic growth projection
As per the first advanced estimates released by the National Statistical Organisation (NSO), the economy is expected to record growth of 9.2 per cent during the current fiscal year, which is tad lower than 9.5 per cent projected by RBI.
On account of the outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent nation-wide lockdown to check the spread of the virus, the economy contracted by 7.3 per cent during 2020-21.
The impact of virus on the economy was comparatively less during the second and third Covid waves as the lockdowns were local in nature and did not cause large-scale disruption in economic activity.