Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs presented the Economic Survey 2021-22 in the Parliament. The highlights of the survey are:
Condition of the Economy:
After a contraction of 7.3 per cent in 2020-21, the Indian economy has been estimated to grow by 9.2 per cent in 2021-22. The growth projection for GDP in 2022-23 has been estimated by 8 to 8.5 per cent. India’s GDP has been projected to grow at 9 per cent in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and at a rate of 7.1 per cent in 2023-2024.
On demand side, in 2021-22 the consumption is estimated to grow by 7.0 per cent while the exports are estimated to grow by 16.5 per cent. Â Also, the growth in imports is expected to grow by 29.4 per cent in the same period. The revenue receipts from the Central Government, in April 2021 to November 2021 grew up by 67.2 per cent, compared to an estimated growth of 9.6 per cent in the 2021-22 Budget Estimates. Gross Tax Revenue has registered a growth of over 50 per cent during April to November, 2021 in Year-on-Year terms.
Foreign Exchange Reserves crossed US$ 600 billion in the first half of 2021-22 and touched US $633.6 billion as of December 31, 2021. At the end of November 2021, India was the fourth largest forex reserves holder in the world after China, Japan and Switzerland.
Financial Management and Intermediation:
The survey report further said that the repo rate was maintained at 4 per cent in 2021-22. The survey report marked the year as exceptional for the capital markets, as Rs 89,066 crore was raised via 75 Initial Public Offering (IPO). Sensex and Nifty indices bounced back to touch peak at 61,766 and 18,477 on October 18, 2021. In April-December 2021, Indian markets outperformed among the major emerging market economies.
Inflation and Pricing:
Food inflation fell to an average low of 2.9 per cent in 2021-22, against the 9.1 per cent in the same time period last year. Furthermore, an ease in food inflation resulted in the decline in retail inflation. The central government took proactive measures to contain the pulses and edible oils price rise. Reducing the Central Excise and Value Added Tax by helped with easing the petrol and diesel prices.
Climate Change and Sustainable Development:
India’s score on NITI Aayog SDG India Index improved from 60 in 2019-20 and 57 in 2018-19 to 66 in 2020-21. India ranks third in increasing its forest cover during 2010 to 2020. Currently, 24% of Indian geography is covered by forests which accounts for 2% of the world’s total forest area. The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, have been notified with the aim to phase out single-use plastic by 2022. The Compliance of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) improved from 39% in 2017 to 81% in 2020.
Agriculture and Food Management:
The Agriculture sector registered for a sizeable growth of 18.8% (2021-22) in Gross Value Added (GVA), with a growth of 3.6% in 2020-21 and 3.9% in 2021-22. The net receipts from crop production have increased by 22.6% compared to the report of 2014. Over the last five years ending 2019-20, the Livestock sector has grown at a CAGR of 8.15. The survey report also pointed out that India runs one of the largest food management programmes in the world.
Industry and Infrastructure:
The Index of Industrial Production during April 2021 to November 2021 grew at 17.4 per cent. Also, the capital expenditure for Indian Railways increased to Rs 155,181 crores in 2020-21 from an average annual of Rs 45,980 crores during 2009-14 period. The road construction per day has increased to 36.5 kilometres per day in 2020-21, from 28 kilometres per day in 2019-20, which is a growth of 30.4 per cent.
Social Infrastructure and Employment:
India has administered 157.94 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines, as on 16th January 2022, of which 91.39 crore are the first doses and 66.05 crore are the second doses. The economic survey report marked that the employment indicators have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. Also, Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data says that the formalization of jobs continued even during the second COVID wave. Based on the National Family Health Survey-5 report, the total Fertility Rate (TFR) in the country has come down to 2 in 2019-21, which was at 2.2 in 2015-16. Whereas, the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), under-five mortality rate and institutional births have improved in 2019-21 over the past years. The economic survey report also noted that under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), 83 districts have become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ districts.
