New Delhi: A day ahead of the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present the Economic Survey 2021-22 in Parliament today projecting economic growth for financial year 2022-23. The key document would be tabled in both the Houses of Parliament after President’s address at the start of the Budget session on Monday. The Survey which is considered government’s report card on economy would contain in-depth analysis of Indian economy, challenges faced by it, sectoral trends, statistics and growth projection. The growth projection for 2022-23 would come in the midst of receding wave of Covid infections and macro-economic indicators showing sharp recovery. The Survey has on many occasions in the past predicted growth which has been at variance with actual growth but still it is one of the most keenly watched numbers in the document. It had estimated the economy to grow at 11% in financial year 2021-22 but it is unlikely to be anywhere close to the actual figure. National Statistical Office (NSO) in its first advance estimate released earlier this month pegged the GDP growth at 9.2% for 2021-22, a tad lower than 9.5% seen by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Many economists and policy-watchers have suggested to boost demand in the economy to achieve higher growth. “Except for this Omicron, manufacturing sector has already taken off. If you see the growth rate in Advance Estimate, it is clearly sharp recovery across the sectors. It’s only the service sector which is contact-intensive sector is taking a little time,” N.R. Bhanumurthy, senior economist and Vice-chancellor, B.R. Ambedkar Economics University told UNI. He said that there is recovery in demand but it is more from external sector compared to domestic sector and suggested to focus on domestic demand by creating more employment opportunities. UNI NK
