Economic Survey 2020 tabled in the Parliament by the Finance Minister
The Economic Survey of the Fiscal Year 2020 has been tabled in both the houses of Parliament. The survey highlights economic trends in the country, development over the past 12 months and facilitates better mobilization of resources.
Highlights
- The Current Fiscal Growth is 5%
- The projected GDP growth for the year 2020-21 is 6% to 6.5%
- The industrial growth for the Fiscal Year 2020 (2019-20) has been 2.5%
- The Forex Reserves of the Fiscal Year 2019 (2018-19) was 461.2 billion USD
- The GST collection for the FY20 has grown by 4.1%
Theme and its significance
The theme for the Economic Survey 2020 is
Theme: Wealth Creation, Promotion of pro-business policies, strengthening of trust in the economy
Significance
The investments grew between 2008 and 2013. After 2013, the credit (money inflow towards the economy or investments) has been slowing down. The year 2013 saw the highest investments (between 2008-19) mainly due to corporate sector. The credit has been declining mainly due to global scenario of economic slowdown. This decline of investments is the major reason for the economic slow down after 2017. Therefore, it is essential to CREATE WEALTH. In other words, to increase investments. This will aid in long term economic growth according to the survey.
Infrastructure
The Survey says that in order to achieve 5 trillion USD by 2024-25, India has to spend 1.4 trillion USD. This has to be done to avoid the constraint of lack of infrastructural growth in the path of India’s target.
Livestock
According to the survey, Livestock has become a major secondary source of income for rural families. This has gained the sector a major role in achieving India’s goal of doubling farmer’s income by 2022. The growth of Livestock has been 7.9% in the last five years.
Green India
The Survey also says that the forest and tree cover has reached 80.73 million hectares. This is 24.56% of total geographical area of the country. The states that have gained forest cover are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir. On the other hand, the states showing decline in forest cover are Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.
Ayushman Bharat
The scheme proposed to set up one and a half Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) by 2022. So far 28,005 HWCs have been set up as on 14th January, 2020.
Out of Pocket Expenditure
The Out of Pocket Expenditure on Helath has declined from 64.2% in 2013-14 to 58.7% in 2016-17.
Job Creation
The job creation of salaried employees or regular wage employees increased by 5% in 2017-18 as compared to 2011-12. The jobs increase was 18% in 2011-12 and increased to 23% in 2017-18
Around 2.62 crore new jobs were created. This included 1.21 crores in rural and 1.39 crores in urban.
Green Bond Market
India has become the second largest emerging Green Bond Market after China. India in 2019 joined the International Platform of Sustainable Finance to increase the environmentally sustainable investments
Service Sector
The Service sector accounts to 55% of the Indian Economy according to the Survey. It contributes two-third of the FDI inflows and 38% of Indian exports.
Other Inferences
- The Inflation declined from 3.2% in April 2019 to 2.6% in December 2019. This reflects weakening of demand in the economy
- Women employment between 2011-12 and 2017-18 has increased by 8%
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Month: Current Affairs - January, 2020