- It was the pre-budget Economic Survey and was authored by a team led by Chief Economic Advisor (CEA).
- The survey was based on the theme of the ‘Agile approach’.
- As per the GoI, India’s economy is growing at 8-8.5% for FY23. For the current fiscal year i.e. FY22, the GDP growth rate is 9.2%. The GDP growth rate contracted by 7.3% in 2020-21.
- The Agriculture sector ad its allied areas are expected to grow by 3.9% in 2021-22. This sector observed growth of 3.6% in the previous year.
- The priority will be given to crop diversification towards oilseeds, pulses, and horticulture.
- The Service Sector was affected by the pandemic. It is expected to grow by 8.2% this financial year following the previous fiscal's 8.4% contraction.
- The industrial sector growth is expected to be 11.2% in FY22.
- The total consumption has increased by 7% in 2021-22. Also, significant contributions were observed in the form of government spending.
- The Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) to grow by 15%, export will grow by 16.5% and imports will grow by 29.4 in 2021-22.
- About Fiscal Developments: The revenue receipts from the Central Government have increased by 67.2% YoY (April to November 2021) as against the expected growth of 9.6% in the 2021-22 Budget Estimates (over 2020-21 Provisional Actuals). The gross tax revenue observed a growth of over 50% YoY (April to November 2021). Capex grew by 13.5% YoY from April to November 2021, by giving focus on infrastructure-intensive sectors. The sustained revenue collection and a targeted expenditure policy have contained the fiscal deficit for April to November 2021 at 46.2% of BE. The government debt has raised from 49.1% of GDP in 2019-20 to 59.3% of GDP in 2020-21. It will observe a reduction as per the economic recovery.
- The Foreign Exchange Reserves crossed US$ 600 billion in the first half of 2021-22 and it was the US $ 633.6 billion as of 31st Dec 2021. India has transformed from being among the ‘fragile five’ nations to the 4th largest forex reserve.
- The external debt of India rose to the US $ 593.1 billion at the end-September 2021, from the US $ 556.8 billion a year earlier.
- Updates on commercial banking system: The YoY credit growth accelerated gradually in 2021-22 from 5.3 percent in April 2021 to 9.2 percent as of 31st Dec 2021. The Gross Non-Performing Advances ratio of Scheduled Commercial Banks reduced to 6.9% at the end of September 2021 from 11.2% at the end of 2017-18. The net NPA ratio reduced to 2.2% from 6% for the same period. The capital to risk-weighted asset ratio of SCBs raised from 13% in 2013-14 to 16.54% at the end of September 2021.
- Around Rs, 89,066 crores were raised through Initial Public Offering (IPO) in April-November 2021.
- The Sensex and Nifty raised at 61,766 and 18,477 on 18th Oct 2021.
- Inflation: The average headline CPI-Combined inflation moderated to 5.2% in 2021-22 (April-December) from 6.6% in 2020-21 April-December period. The food inflation averaged at a low of 2.9% from April to December of 2021-22 as against 9.1% to December of 2020-21.
- Sustainable Development and Climate Change: The score of India as per the NITI Aayog SDG Index has observed improvement to 66 in 2020-21 from 60 in 2019-20 and 57 in 2018-19. The country has the tenth-largest forest area in the world and has ranked 3rd at the global level to increase its forest area from 2010 to 2020.
- The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021 will prove helpful to the economy as it is aimed at phasing out single-use plastic by 2022.
- India has 3rd largest start-up ecosystem in the world and the number of newly recognized start-ups increased to 14000 in 2021-22 from 733 in 2016-17. Around 44 startups attained unicorn status in 2021. Therefore, there are 83 unicorns in India.
- Overall, service Sector GVA will grow to 8.2% in 2021-22.
- The IIP (Index of Industrial Production) raised by 17.4% (YoY) during April-November 2021 when compared with (-)15.3% in April-November 2020.
- The expenditure on social services which includes health, education, and others was increased as a proportion of GDP increased from 6.2 % in 2014-15 to 8.6% in 2021-22 (BE).
- As of 16th Jan 2022, 157.94 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered.
