Economic Survey 2023: President Droupadi Murmu discusses the joint session of Parliament


Economic Survey 2023: President Droupadi Murmu discusses the joint session of Parliament
05:16 PM
Vighnesh Shahane, MD & CEO, Ageas Federal Life Insurance, says
The Covid-19 pandemic showed us the need for adequate life and health insurance more than ever. While the Economic Survey report reveals that India’s life insurance penetration is almost twice more than the emerging markets, it still continues to be a severely under-penetrated market for life insurance. As an industry, considerably more needs to be done to increase life insurance penetration in the country.
By offering innovative products that cater to the life-cycle needs of the customer, ensuring adequate life cover, creating awareness about the need for pure protection products, and fostering a digital-first approach to enhance customer satisfaction, the industry can take measures that will go a long way in driving insurance penetration in India.
The regulator has made a number of laudable announcements during this fiscal year, notably the opening of e-insurance accounts (eIA) for customers, dematerialisation of insurance policies, and setting up of the Bima Sugam portal, which will further boost growth for the sector. Implementation of these initiatives would help to deliver an ‘end-to-end’ digital journey for the customer. It would also help in creating more awareness, deepening penetration, lessening the huge protection gap that currently exists, and expanding the reach of insurers.
05:15 PM
India spearheading one of world's most ambitious clean energy transitions, highlights Eco Survey
India is spearheading one of the worlds most ambitious clean energy transitions and remains steadfast in its commitment to combat climate change, according to the Economic Survey for 2022-23, which was presented in the Parliament on Tuesday.
Despite the adverse impacts of Covid-19 on the economy, India has enhanced its climate ambition manifold and embarked on a long-term strategy towards a Low GHG Emission Development Strategy by adopting a multi-pronged approach.
The energy transition plan is complemented by numerous policies intended to improve the ecosystem to deploy promising technological innovations, like green hydrogen.
The country has consistently modified/amended regulatory standards and adopted policy-level interventions to support the development and adoption of new technology.
India's progress on energy transition may be understood from the fact that it has enhanced its non-fossil fuel based installed capacity target to 50 per cent in its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) as the target of 40 per cent of the first NDC was achieved well in advance.
05:06 PM
Jyoti Prakash Gadia, MD at Resurgent India, says
Though the RBI is working to improve the banking system through regulations on risk management and provisioning, the government too needs to play an active role to strengthen the process of recovery of bad debt/NPA through changes in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The IBC process is marred by numerous challenges, such as delays in the resolution of the corporate debtor and excessive haircuts, which need to be addressed through improvements in processes and provisions in order to minimize legal disputes and delays. The pre-packaged resolution process needs clearer guidelines to boost lenders’ confidence in the absence of a full bidding process.
04:51 PM
Economic Survey says, behavioural change among debtors a far-reaching spillover effect of IBC
Behavioural change effectuated among debtors is one of the far-reaching spillover effects of the insolvency law, which is also facilitating the exit of distressed firms and thereby allocating scare economic resources for more productive use, the Economic Survey said on Tuesday.
As many as 5,893 Corporate Insolvency Resolution Processes (CIRPs) had commenced by end-September 2022, of which 67 per cent have been closed, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) that came into effect in December 2016.
Citing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, the Economic Survey 2022-23 said that in FY22, the total amount recovered by Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) under the Code was the highest compared to other channels.
04:43 PM
Promoting international trade in rupee to help reduce currency volatility, says Eco Survey
Promoting international trade in the domestic currency will help in protecting the rupee from volatility and reduce cost of doing business in the global markets, Economic Survey said on Tuesday. The survey suggested that it could assist Indian exporters in getting advance payments in rupee from overseas clients and in the longer term promote the domestic currency as an international currency once the rupee settlement mechanism gains traction.
In July 2022, the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular permitting an additional arrangement for invoicing, payment, and settlement of exports/imports in Indian rupees (INR) to promote the growth of global trade with emphasis on exports from India and to support the increasing interest in the global trading community in rupee as an international currency. The framework involves invoicing of exports and imports in rupee, market-determined exchange rates between the currencies of the trading partner countries, and settlement through special rupee vostro accounts opened with authorised dealer banks in India. International settlement in rupee acquires significance against the backdrop of the US Federal Reserve aggressively hiking the policy rates and its hawkish stand.
04:27 PM
We must strive to bring startups' ownership back to country, says Eco Survey
As external support from the government has made it relatively easier than before for entrepreneurship to thrive, there are several inherent challenges faced by startups, like ever-elusive funding, revenue generation struggles, lack of easy access to supportive infrastructure, or wading through the regulatory environment and tax structures, the Economic Survey for 2022-23 said on Tuesday.
As per the Survey, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, it has also been observed that many Indian companies have been getting headquartered overseas, especially in destinations with favourable legal environments and taxation policies. "The technical jargon for this may be identified as 'Flipping', which is the process of transferring the entire ownership of an Indian company to an overseas entity, accompanied by a transfer of all IP and all data hitherto owned by the Indian company," the document read.
The Economic Survey noted that the flipping phenomenon "reflects startups venturing out for short-term gains in the dynamic, uncertain geopolitical world". "However, the flip can be reversed with the collective action by the government related regulatory bodies and other stakeholders. With solution-oriented strategies, startups will continue to be the messengers of India's entrepreneurial dynamism," it added.
To accelerate the process of "reverse dipping", certain measures are possible like simplifying the process for grant of "Inter-Ministerial Board (IMB) certification" for startups, further simplification of taxation of Employee Stock Options (ESOPs), simplifying multiple layers of tax and uncertainty due to tax litigation and the procedures for capital flows.
04:04 PM
Rumki Majumdar, Economist, Deloitte India says
On fiscal deficit: The global slowdown has already been factored into investment decisions. India should now prepare to bounce back when the global economy recovers. Government must pursue policies to cushion the economy to reduce the vagaries of the global business cycle and focus on a greater degree on building infrastructure, creating an industrial base, and encouraging new business formation. Given the quantum of funding required, the government will have to push harder for creative financing options so as to not impact the fiscal performance.
On inflation: The government must address the supply bottlenecks to contain inflationary pressures and bring it back within its comfort range in a timely manner. Measures such as spending on infrastructure and logistics may go a long way in bringing down costs and improving competitiveness. More importantly, it will help India move up the value chain over the Amrit Kaal of the next 25 years.
On private investment: Private investments is gathering momentum in certain industry pockets. Going forward, investment growth could be because of adaptive expectations—expectations for the future influenced by recent experiences. High inflation for a prolonged period and rapidly rising interest rates could lead businesses to believe that this may continue in the future as well. Amidst impending global slowdown, it is important to anchor such expectations so that such they don’t weigh on private investment decisions. That signifies the urgency of a successful tightrope walking amongst the policymakers and authorities.
On the last-term budget: While all eyes are on the annual budget, the government has not limited itself to announcing initiatives and reforms only once a year. In fact, some of the successful policies such as the NIP, ECLGS, the PLI scheme, and NLP were announced outside of the budget period. Although this will be the last full-term budget for the current government, the government is likely continue its efforts to push reforms and maneuver the economy to build on India’s resilience.
04:00 PM
India's export of goods and services in value for the first 3 quarters of FY23 up 16 per cent y-o-y
The Economic Survey on Tuesday said the combined value of goods and services exports in current dollars for April - December 2022 is 16 per cent higher than in April-December 2021.
"As a country with a large merchandise trade deficit because of its dependence on imported fuel, the external sector is always watched closely, especially during rising oil prices," the Survey said, adding, "This financial year is one such year."
According to the Survey, various arms of the government ensured that, in a year of extreme supply uncertainty and price volatility, India's energy security was not compromised.
It added, "Merchandise exports were USD 332.8 billion over April-December 2022 against USD 305 billion during the period April-December 2021. Nonpetroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in April-December 2022 were USD 233.5 billion, as compared to USD 230 billion in April-December 2021."
03:44 PM
Mitul Shah, Head of research at Reliance Securities says
Overall Economic Survey outcome is positive for market as upgrade in FY23 GDP growth expectation of 7% augurs well, while FY24 Inflation of below 6%, within RBI’s targeted range provides major relief. However FY24 GDP growth of 6-6.8% is tad below desired 7%+ range. Preference on Growth over fiscal deficit would be key trigger for market sentiment going ahead. Other parameters in terms of GST collection, direct taxes and other revenues are encouraging in this challenging global economic environment.
03:40 PM
Private consumption scores big
Private Consumption as a percentage of GDP stood at 58.4 per cent in the second quarter OF FY23, the highest among the second quarters of all the years since 2013-14 supported by a rebound in contact -intensive services such as trade, hotel and transport survey points to the lower forecast for growth in global trade by the World Trade Organisation from 3.5 per cent in 2022 to 1.0 per cent in 2023
03:20 PM
Manish Chowdhury, Head of research at Stoxbox says
The economic survey 2022-23 is a testament of India specific triggers aligned in the right direction of sustained economic growth. Despite the global headwinds, India is projected to log a growth rate of 6-6.8% in FY24 which would be the fastest amongst the major global economies. We believe that many structural factors like PLIs, FTAs, alternate technologies/fuels, domestic demand, and healthy balance sheets of consumers, corporates and banks are likely to propel economic growth higher in the long term. With inflation off from its peak, the demand side of the story looks intact, further helped by private capex cycle revival along with growing public sector investments. We believe that if India is able to steer through the elevated risks arising from higher inflation and slowing growth in advanced economies, we may usher into a new era of growth which may drive us closer to the USD 5 trillion GDP in the near term.
03:07 PM
India's potential growth will rise towards 8% if global economy recovers, says CEA
03:02 PM
Expect inflation to be well behaved for 2023-24, but there are upside risks - Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran
03:01 PM
Share of private sector investment in agriculture has reached a high level, faciliated by various government initiatives. The sector is no longer about being a primary sector, it has tremendous export potential as well, says CEA
03:00 PM
If the global economy slows down as IMF projects, then commodity prices should retreat on the back of monetary tightening that happened in 2022. Baseline assumption is that inflation should not be as big a problem as it was in 2022, says CEA Anantha Nageswaram
02:57 PM
Difficult to predict oil price, RBI takes a number below $100 a barrel. We can live with that number and be able to achieve the growth rates that we have projected in the survey, says CEA
02:57 PM
NPAs of Non-Banking Financial Institutions is lower than what is was 15 months ago - CEA Anantha Nageswaram
02:54 PM
Credit growth is picking up across different sectors. MSMEs, Large Industry, Services, and Non-Food credit are growing at double digit rates, says CEA

02:52 PM

Among sectors in private listed space, investments undertaken by companies in the first half of FY 2022-23 is higher than what it was in first half of FY 2021-22, says CEA

02:50 PM

Because of the government's health insurance programme, out of pocket health expenditure for families has reduced from 66% to 48%, says CEA

02:49 PM

There was talk of India having prematurely deindustrialised. I would say India had not industrialised enough. - Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran

02:48 PM

The first tranche of $1 billion sovereign green bond was just auctioned. We got a better yield. We were able to sell the green bond at 6 basis points lower than the conventional borrowing cost. There will be one more coming in the current financial year, says CEA

02:46 PM

 In the first decade, capital expenditure led to job creation and that is a phase that India is looking towards now as well, says CEA

02:45 PM

As private sector investment kicks in, and construction sector comes back to life with rural migrants getting back to urban employment opportunities, the employment scenario will pick up as it did in the first half of the decade, says CEA

02:43 PM

Chief Economic Adviser says, the digital infrastructure can help the hitherto excluded sections get a fair shot at accessing national and international markets.

02:40 PM

Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran says, there is a lot of justified optimism about India's digital public infrastructure.

02:40 PM

It's not just that quality of government expenditure has improved in recent years, but the government has also become more transparent about it's numbers, asserts CEA

02:32 PM

Recovery of economy is complete; non-banking and corporate sectors now have healthy balance sheets, hence, we don't have to speak of pandemic recovery anymore, we have to look ahead to the next phase, says CEA

02:30 PM

Reforms of the last eight years mean India will perform better in this decade.  - Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran 

02:28 PM

CEA says, more than 7 lakh cases have been resolved even before entering the IBC process. This isn't reflected in the data.

02:25 PM

India's economy is poised to do better in remainder of this decade, says CEA

02:22 PM

IMF pegged 6.8% economic growth in FY23, 6.1% for FY24 and at 6.8% for FY25 this morning; our economic survey this year is a clear reflection of that,     -CEA Nageswaran

02:19 PM

Banking, non-banking, and corporate sectors have good balance sheets after a long time -  - CEA Anantha Nageswaram

02:18 PM

India's GDP growth is going to do better in the remainder of the decade, says Chief economic advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaram

02:05 PM

Capex revival is on the cards

With well-capitalised banks ready and willing to lend and corporates financially stronger and willing to borrow, the credit-investment cycle is poised for an upturn in the third decade” Pandemic interrupted the investment cycle as deleveraging was completed by the end of 2018. Core debt of pvt sector as share of GDP down to 87.8 percent in June 2022 quarter, from 100.7 percent in March 2021 quarter

02:03 PM

The Survey points to sharp rise in commodity prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict; prices yet to reach pre-conflict levels. Inflation stays high, driven by high food and energy prices.

02:01 PM

Economic Survey on Debt to GDP ratio

The General Government Debt to GDP ratio increased from 75.7 per cent of end-March 2020 to 89.6 per cent at the end of the pandemic year FY21. It is estimated to decline to 84.5 per cent of GDP by end-March 2022. The emphasis on capex-led growth will enable India to keep the growth-interest rate differential positive. A positive growth-interest rate differential keeps the debt levels sustainable.

01:58 PM

Self Help Groups and their contribution

The Economic Survey 2022-23 has underlined the Self Help Group (SHG) women's contribution in crisis management during COVID. The Survey observes that the production of masks by SHGs has been a noteworthy contribution, enabling access to and use of masks by communities in remote rural areas and providing vital protection against the Covid-19 virus. As on 4 January 2023, more than 16.9 crore masks were produced by SHGs under DAY-NRLM.

01:56 PM

What's driving the rebound in consumption

The rebound in consumption has also been supported by the release of “pent-up” demand, a phenomenon not again unique to India but nonetheless exhibiting a local phenomenon influenced by a rise in the share of consumption in disposable income. Since the share of consumption in disposable income is high in India, a pandemic-induced suppression of consumption built up that much greater recoil force. Hence, the consumption rebound may have lasting power.

01:49 PM

Agriculture sector remains buoyant

Economic Survey 2022-23 says that India’s agriculture sector has been witnessing robust growth with an average annual growth rate of 4.6$ over the last six years. The Survey attributes the sector’s growth and buoyancy to the “measures taken by the government to augment crop and livestock productivity, ensure certainty of returns to the farmers through price support (Minimum Support Price), promote crop diversification” and, focused interventions to “enhance credit availability, facilitate mechanisation and boost horticulture and organic farming”. The Survey observes that these interventions are in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Doubling of Farmers’ Income.

01:44 PM

Thrust on rural development

Economic Survey 2023 notes that 65% (2021 data) of the country’s population lives in the rural areas and 47 per cent of the population is dependent on agriculture for livelihood. Thus, the focus of the government on rural development is imperative. The Government’s emphasis has been on improving the quality of life in rural areas to ensure more equitable and inclusive development. The aim of engagement of the government in the rural economy has been “transforming lives and livelihoods through proactive socio-economic inclusion, integration, and empowerment of rural India.”

01:42 PM

What will drive India's growth?

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, PM Gati Shakti, National Logistics Policy, expansion of public digital platform, capital investment cycle and credit disbursal will drive India's economic growth.

01:31 PM

On inflation

Economic Survey 2023 has said that the CPI inflation did not "creep too far above" the RBI's tolerance range, in comparison to several world economies.

01:30 PM

Confidence on forex reserves

The Economic Survey 2023 is confident that India has sufficient foreign exchange reserves to finance its Current Account Deficit (CAD) and intervene in forex market to manage rupee volatility.

01:29 PM

On steel production

The country is now a global force in steel production and the 2nd largest crude steel producer in the world. The steel sector’s performance in the current fiscal year has been robust, with cumulative production and consumption of finished steel at 88 MT and 86 MT, respectively.

01:26 PM

On power sector

The reforms being undertaken in energy and power sector will help fast-track India's progress in the next 25 years. Government, along with private sector, has progressively worked towards increasing the share of renewables. This will ensure a gradual but calibrated energy transition, meeting the country’s sustainability targets and giving primacy to its national developmental requirements.

01:25 PM

Factors driving economic growth

According to Economic Survey 2023, the GDP growth will be driven by higher capital expenditure, private consumption, credit growth to small businesses, strengthening corporate balance sheet and return of migrant workers to cities.

01:25 PM

India will continue to be fastest growing economy

Economic Survey 2023 is confident that despite the GDP growth slowing down in financial year 2023-24, India will continue to be fastest growing economy in the world.

01:24 PM

Fifth largest economy

Economic Survey 2023 has highlighted that India is the fifth largest economy in terms of the exchange rate and the third largest in terms of purchasing power parity.

01:24 PM

India has "nearly" recouped

Economic Survey 2023 has pointed out that the Indian economy has nearly "recouped" what was lost. It has "renewed" what had paused, and "renerengised" what had slowed during the pandemic and since the conflict in Europe.

01:18 PM

Export woes

Slowing world growth, shrinking global trade led to loss of export stimulus in 2nd half of current year, says Economic Survey.

01:17 PM

11% nominal GDP growth

Economic Survey 2023 expects that the Gross Domestic Product in nominal terms will grow at 11% in the next financial year.

01:16 PM

FY23 real GDP growth seen at 7%

Economic Survey 2023 expected the Indian economy to grow at around 7% in the ongoing financial year 2023-24.

01:15 PM

CAD & Rupee worries

Economic Survey 2023 has cautioned that the Indian rupee may come under pressure if the Current Account Deficit (CAD) continues to widen.

01:13 PM

India's growth story intact

Economic Survey 2023 is confident that India's growth story is driven by strong fundamentals. This comes as a strong assurance amidst global headwinds.

01:11 PM

India's recovery from pandemic was relatively quick; growth to be supported by domestic demand, pick up in capital investment, says Eco Survey.

01:06 PM

India sees GDP growth slowing to 6%-6.8% in 2023/24

  • India on Tuesday forecast its economy will grow 6% to 6.8% in the next financial year starting April 1, down from 7% projected for the current year.
  • The government's annual Economic Survey report said its baseline scenario for growth for 2023/24 was 6.5%, with nominal growth, which accounts for inflation, forecast at 11%.
  • Gross domestic product is expected to grow 6.5% in the fiscal year starting April, compared with the 7% expansion estimated for the current year.

12:44 PM

All eyes on Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Economic Survey 2023 shortly.

12:40 PM

Will India be an outlier?

Sachchidanand Shukla, Chief Economist at Mahindra Group told TOI that India will be an oasis of hope in the world. Despite global headwinds, the India growth story is strong enough to tide over the global uncertainties, he said.

12:39 PM

India's global relations with other countries are at their best now

                                                - Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar

12:27 PM

To be tabled soon

  • The Economic Survey 2023 is expected to be tabled soon in the Parliament. Providing direction to the Union Budget 2023, the Economic Survey is a crucial statement on the economic growth path in the ongoing fiscal year. Policy suggestions on key economic issues also form part of the Economic Survey every year.

12:23 PM

Watch out for Chief Economic Advisor's press conference

Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran will be addressing a press conference live at 2PM to explain the findings of the Economic Survey 2023, its theme and the forecast in detail.

12:09 PM

Economic Survey 2023 Live: Main areas of focus

  • State of the Economy
  • Fiscal Developments
  • External Sector
  • Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation
  • Prices and Inflation
  • Sustainable Development and Climate Change
  • Agriculture and Food Management
  • Industry and Infrastructure
  • Services
  • Social Infrastructure and Employment
  • Tracking Development through Satellite Images and Cartography

12:05 PM

To provide better facilities to border villages, my government has started work on 'Vibrant Villages Programme.' For national security, unprecedented infrastructure has been created in border areas. Development in these areas is gaining momentum

- President Droupadi Murmu

11:58 AM

President Murmu speaks

  • Due to new initiatives by govt, India's defence exports have increased six times.
  • Today India's youth are showing the power of their innovation to the world.
  • Government has chosen the path of pushing development.
  • India is becoming a high tech hub for knowledge.
  • Digital India, 5G technology are receiving recognition the world over.
  • India is pushing yoga and ayurveda at the same time.

11:55 AM

How many chapters would be there in the Survey?

The Economic Survey is usually divided into several chapters that review the state of various important sectors in economy in the ongoing financial year. Though, India is expected to slow down amidst global threat of recession, most global institutions like the World Bank, IMF, OECD expect the Indian economy to continue being among the fastest growing.

11:48 AM

President Murmu hails 'Aspirational districts' program

The 'Aspirational districts' program is now being repeated at the block level, for which, 500 blocks have been identified in the country. The 'Vibrant villages' program to develop villages in border areas has also been introduced, says President Murmu.

11:45 AM

With complete transparency, more than Rs 27 lakh crores have been provided to crores of people. A World Bank report states that with such schemes and systems India was able to save crores of people from dropping below the poverty line during COVID

- President Murmu

11:43 AM

India wary of global headwinds

Even though India's growth has been projected to be the fastest and Indian economy has been termed as a "bright spot" due to the resilience it has shown amidst a global crisis, the pace of rise in GDP is expected to slowdown significantly. According to a survey conducted by TOI and Deloitte India, the biggest economic uncertainty that faces businesses today is the global slowdown.

11:34 AM

President Murmu speaks

  • Due to the decisions taken my govt in the national interest, India is in a better position as compared to other countries
  • Govt has passed legislation to tackle fugitive economic offenders.
  • Govt e-marketplace has seen transactions worth over Rs 3 lakh crore.
  • We praise people who support us to fight corruption.
  • Taxpayers are getting refunds within days of filing IT returns.
  • GST, Ayushman Bharat are boon for India.
  • Centre working for women empowerment.
  • 11 crore small farmers are my government's priority.
  • 36,000 Adivasi families have been covered under Adivasi Ekta Mission.
  • Govt has spent more than Rs 2.5 crore under PM Kissan Scheme.

11:30 AM

Ayushmaan Bharat scheme has resulted in Rs 80,000 cr of savings for the poor. Govt has spent Rs 3.5 lakh crore on the free food program.

- President Murmu

11:29 AM

My government has worked for every section of society without any discrimination. As a result of the efforts of my government in the last few years, many basic facilities have either reached 100% population or are very close to that target, says President Murmu

11:19 AM

Today, India's self-confidence is at its highest and the world is looking at her from a different perspective. India is providing solutions to the world

- President Droupadi Murmu to joint session of Parliament

11:17 AM

Numbers that matter

The Reserve Bank of India has forecast 6.8% growth in FY23 while the World Bank has pegged it at 6.9%. Nominal gross domestic product (GDP) growth, without adjusting for inflation, is seen at 15.4% in FY23, sharply higher than the 11.1% assumed in the budget. India’s GDP had grown 8.7% in FY22, boosted by the pandemic-induced low base of the preceding FY21 fiscal year.

11:13 AM

We need to ensure India is self-reliant where there is no poverty, says President Murmu.

11:12 AM

This 25-year period of Amrit kaal marks the golden century of independence and the creation of a developed India. These 25 years are about fulfilling our duties for all of us and for every citizen of the country

- President Droupadi Murmu

11:11 AM

President Droupadi Murmu addresses the joint session of Parliament

By 2047, we have to build a nation that will be connected to the pride of the past and which will have all the golden chapters of modernity. We have to build an India that will be 'aatmanirbhar' and capable to fulfill its humanitarian duties, says President Murmu