1. Polity and Administration, Indian Economy, Economic Survey and Government
Budget.
Why in News:
• The Economic Survey of the country was presented in the Parliament
on January 31 before the general budget to be presented on February 1 after the
President's address.
Key Points:
• The Economic Survey presented by the Finance Minister states that India's GDP
will grow by 11% from the baseline value in the nominal term in the financial year
2023-24. At the same time, the Indian economy is estimated to be 6.5% in real
terms.
• In the financial year 2022, the country's economy has grown by 8.7%.
• The Economic Survey states that India has sufficient foreign exchange reserves to
finance current account deficit and rupee volatility.
• India is the third largest economy in the world in terms of Purchasing Power
Parity (PPP). At the same time, it is at number five in the exchange rate.
• The Capex of the central government has increased by 63.4 in the April-November
period of the current financial year.
• According to the survey, retail inflation has come down below the tolerance band of
RBI in the month of November after the steps taken by RBI. The Indian currency is
performing better against the dollar than most of the world's currencies.
• Under the target of halving poverty by 2030, more than 41 crore people have
been lifted out of poverty during 2005-05 to 2019-21.
• Under the target of halving poverty by the year 2030 (Sustainable Development
Goal), more than 41 Crore people have come out of poverty during 2005-05 to
2019-21.
• According to the Periodic Labor Force Survey, the urban unemployment rate for
people aged 15 years and above has come down from 9.8 in September 2021
to 7.2 per cent a year later. Along with this, the Labor Force Participation Rate
(LFPR) has also improved.
• During this period the urban unemployment rate has reached the lowest level in
the last four years.
• FDI inflows in FY2022 were $21.3 billion, up 76 per cent from FY21.
• Indian pharmaceutical exports have registered a growth of 24 per cent in
FY2021. Cumulative FDI in Pharma sector to cross $20 billion mark by September
2022.
• According to the Economic Survey, there has been a significant increase in
government spending in the social sector. Expenditure in the social sector has
increased to Rs 21.3 lakh crore in FY 2023 as compared to Rs 9.1 lakh crore in FY
2016.
2. • By January 4, 2023, around 22 crore people had got benefits under the Ayushman
Bharat scheme. Along with this, more than 1.54 lakh health and wellness centers are
also being operated in the country.
• Budgeted expenditure of central and state government on health sector to reach 2.1
per cent of GDP in FY2023 and 2.2 per cent in FY22, compared to 1.6 per cent in
FY21, said the survey. Apart from this, more than 220 crore doses of Covid vaccine
have been given.
• The unemployment rate has come down from 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 4.2 per
cent in 2020-21. The labor force participation of women in rural areas has increased.
It has increased from 19.7 % in 2018-19 to 27.7 % in 2020-21
• 28.5 crore unorganized workers have been registered on the e-Shram Portal.
There was an increase in self-employment and a decline in the share of regular
wage/salaried employees in 2020-21. The net average monthly subscribers added
under EPFO has increased from 8.8 Lakh in April-November 2021 to 13.2 Lakh in
April-November 2022.
• By 2070, India has announced Net Zero Pledge to achieve net zero emission
target. National Green Hydrogen Mission has been launched to make India
energy independent by 2047.
• Private investment in agriculture increased to 9.3% in 2020-21.
• Free food grains have been given to about 81.4 crore beneficiaries for one year
under the National Food Security Act. Around 11.3 crore farmers have been
covered under PM Kisan in the April-July 2022-23 payment cycle.
• India is at the forefront of promoting millets through the International Year of Millets
initiative.
• ₹47,500 crore investment under PLI schemes in FY22, which is 106% of the
target set.
• India's e-commerce market is expected to grow at a rate of 18 percent annually till
2025. Merchandise exports pegged at US$ 332.8 billion for April-December 2022.
India is set to become the largest recipient of USD 100 billion globally in 2022.
• Plan PM Gatishakti National Master creates a comprehensive database for
integrated planning and synchronized implementation across
Ministries/Departments. UPI based transactions are expected to grow by 121% in
value and 115% in volume between 2019-2022.
• The growth in direct tax collections for the April-November 2022 period remains
intact.
What is Economic Survey:
• The Economic Survey is an annual document brought out by the Ministry of
Finance. It is an account of the economic progress and performance of the country
in the last one year. All the main statistics related to the economy are presented in
the Economic Survey. It gives a detailed description of key components of the
economy such as inflation, infrastructure, agriculture and foreign exchange
reserves.
• Along with this, the economic survey tells about the economic challenges facing the
country. It is prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of
Finance, under the supervision of the Chief Economic Adviser.
3. History of Economic Survey:
• The first Economic Survey of the country was presented in 1950-51. Before 1964 it
used to be a part of the budget, but it was separated and started being released a
day before the budget. Since then till now this tradition is going on.
• It is divided into two parts. In the first part, a complete description of the present
economic condition of the country is given. The second part focuses on various
issues such as health, poverty, climate change and the Human Development Index.
Conclusion:
• Indian Economy is making broad based reforms across all sectors, which is poised
to grow further. The pandemic affected both the labor market and employment, but
the labor market has now moved beyond pre-Covid conditions, both in rural and
urban areas. This is clearly visible in the supply-side and demand-side employment
data.
