With the Union Budget 2024, a week away, let us briefly look at the Economic Survey of India, a key document that is a major driving force in the country’s economy.
What is the Economic Survey of India?
The Economic Survey of India sheds light on the country's economy so policymakers can understand and address short-term and long-term issues. Presented a day before the budget, the document is prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) and his team within the Ministry of Finance.
After preparing a comprehensive report on the state of the country’s economy, the Economic Survey is reviewed by the Finance secretary before getting the nod from the Finance Minister.
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Why is it important and what does it contain?
The document contains a detailed analysis of the country’s economic prospects and analysis of the various sectors in the country. It also gives information about the country’s GDP growth, inflation, fiscal deficit etc.
Economic Survey provides the impetus for the major policies undertaken by the government and serves as a benchmark for the subsequent budgets that follow.
The Economic Survey of India is divided into three parts.
The first part contains an overview of the Chief Economic Advisor’s thoughts on the economy of the country revealing the government’s stance on various issues.
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The second part comprises data, statistics, and figures of the various sectors in the country which are given by the respective ministries whereas the third part is about the macroeconomic indicators of the country such as national income, inflation, production, employment etc.
The Economic Survey does not confine itself exclusively to the economy of the country.
It also assesses the impact of the impact of climate change, the gender gap, and other multidimensional issues that are related to helping policymakers with coming up with concrete solutions.
Why wasn't it presented in the interim Budget?
The reason why there is no Economic Survey before the interim budget is because the interim budget does bring overhauling changes to the country’s economy. The interim budget is mainly focused on making the engine of the economy move to facilitate the subsequent government. So, a comprehensive Economic Survey might not be relevant in the context.
