Page 15 - Economic Survey

Households not in distress, investing more in financial assets: CEA

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Monday said that households are investing more in financial assets and their market value are not captured in the national income data. The Economic Survey 2023-24, tabled in Parliament, said that registered investor base at NSE has nearly tripled from March 2020 to March 2024 to 9.2 crore as of March 31, 2024, potentially translating into 20 per cent of the Indian households now channelling their household savings into financial markets. Addressing reporters, Nageswaran said, "households are not in distress" and they are investing in financial assets which have done very well. Also, savings in physical assets have improved and gone up from 10.8 per cent in fiscal 2020-21 to 12.9 per cent in 2022-23. "Especially in last 4 years the foray of retail investors into stock market through SIPs and mutual funds has been quite prolifically documented. Our national income data do not record this at market prices and that is the reason why there

Apprenticeship framework must provide flexibility in work hours: Eco Survey

Such reform and better compensation will improve employability of vocational students, it says

Increased education budget led to rise in enrolment rates: Economic Survey

The survey states a rise in enrolment in higher education has been witnessed between FY15 and FY22, driven by underprivileged sections such as SC, ST, and OBC

Primary mkt was robust amidst favourable investment climate: Eco Survey

Debt issuances dominated fundraising in the last fiscal year, constituting 78.8 per cent of the total funds raised

Fiscal balances improved despite rise in public investment: Eco Survey

The fiscal balances of the central and state governments taken together have improved progressively despite expansionary public investments, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24. Tax compliance gains driven by procedural reforms, expenditure restraint, and increasing digitisation helped India achieve this fine balance, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday. The external balance has been pressured by subdued global demand for goods, but strong services exports largely counterbalanced this, it added. Noting that global output is now somewhat more resilient than in 2022, the pre-Budget document said inflationary pressures are shrinking, and trade is set to recover, should there be no further geo-political shocks or flare-ups. However, the survey noted that chances of geopolitical disturbances and conflicts have only gone up in recent times. The survey said India's calibrated response to the pandemic on the

Remove food from inflation-targeting framework, explore options: Eco Survey

The Reserve Bank should stop looking at food inflation in deciding interest rates and the government should explore giving coupons or direct cash transfer to poor to deal with higher food prices, the pre-Budget economic survey said on Monday. While the inflation rate has moderated in recent months, the RBI has refrained from cutting benchmark interest rates -- which decide the rate at which home, personal and corporate loans are given by banks -- citing elevated food inflation. India introduced the inflation-targeting framework in 2016 under which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is mandated to keep retail inflation at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. The benchmark policy rates are decided bi-monthly by the RBI on the basis of movement in consumer price index, which includes food, fuel, manufactured goods and select services. "India's inflation targeting framework should consider targeting inflation, excluding food. Higher food prices are, more often, not ...

Healthcare has become more affordable and accessible: Eco Survey

As such, out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) as a percentage of THE has come down from 64.2 per cent in FY14 to 47.1 per cent in FY20

India now among top 25 global defence exporters: Economic Survey 2023-24

Economic Survey 2023-24 says India has gone from being world's second-largest arms importer between 2015 and 2019 to securing a place in the list of the top 25 arms exporter nations

Green steel to play key role in for low carbon economy: Economic Survey

Green steel will play an important role in reshaping the future of the industry as the world moves towards a low-carbon economy, the Economic Survey for 2023-24 has said. The concept of green steel promotes the production of steel using green energy sources and minimizing the usage of fossil fuels. "As the world moves towards a low-carbon economy, green steel is poised to play a pivotal role in reshaping the future of the steel industry," said the Survey tabled in Parliament on Monday. India's steel sector accounts for 12 per cent of India's greenhouse gas emissions with an emission intensity of 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel compared to the global average of 1.9 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel, it said. The Survey also said that India remained a net importer of steel during the first, second and third quarters of FY24 because of price differentials between international and domestic prices of finished steel. Low prices in the international markets led to reduce

Eco Survey on cap goods: Potential expansions in industrial capacities seen

The report also anticipated the UAE could become a hub for sourcing India's capital goods and intermediates for further value-added exports to other African and European destinations

Employment generation is 'real bottom line' for private sector: Eco Survey

The Economic Survey notes that businesses have an obligation to themselves to strike the right balance between deployment of capital and deployment of labour

Remittances to India may grow 3.7% in 2024 to $124 bn: Economic Survey

Remittances to India -- the second largest source of external financing after service exports -- are projected to grow at 3.7 per cent to USD 124 billion in 2024 and at 4 per cent to reach USD 129 billion in 2025, the Economic Survey said on Monday. India's primary source of remittances is oil-exporting countries. According to the World Bank, India has the largest emigrant population and is the top remittance recipient country. In 2023, remittances to India had hit USD 120 billion. "The outlook for remittance in India for 2024 is strong, with the expectation that remittance growth will moderate to 3.7 per cent, taking... levels to USD 124 billion in 2024," the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. The diversification of India's migrant pool -- between a large share of highly skilled workers employed mostly in high-income OECD markets, and the less-skilled migrants employed in the GCC markets -- is likely to lend stability to their ...

Stock Market Highlights, July 22: Sensex, Nifty end flat ahead of Budget; RIL, Wipro sink up to 9%

Stock Market Highlights on July 22: In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap, and SmallCap indices snapped their two-day losing run to settle 1.3 per cent and 0.85 per cent higher, respectively

Economic Survey calls upon India Inc to step up hiring, compensation

"It is worth reiterating that job creation happens mainly in the private sector," the survey released on Monday said

Indian GCCs employed more than 16 lakh people in FY23: Economic Survey

The software, internet, and banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sectors collectively accounted for about 58 per cent of India's IT GCC talent, according to the document

Budget 2024: 80% flexi workers earn Rs 20,000 a month, shows Eco Survey

Budget 2024: India employs nearly 5.4 million formal contract staff or flexi workers through organised contract/temporary staffing companies, according to Economic Survey 2024

Increased FDI inflows from China can help India push exports: Eco Survey

Increased foreign direct investment inflows from China can help increase India's global supply chain participation and push exports, says the Economic Survey. The Survey said as India looks to deepen its involvement in global value chains (GVCs), it needs to look at the successes and strategies of East Asian economies. These economies have typically pursued two main strategies - reducing trade costs and facilitating foreign investment. It added that India faces two choices to benefit from 'China plus one' strategy and that is either to integrate into China's supply chain or promote FDI from China. "Among these choices, focusing on FDI from China seems more promising for boosting India's exports to the US, similar to how East Asian economies did in the past," the Survey, tabled in Parliament by Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, said. Moreover, choosing FDI as a strategy to benefit from the China plus one approach appears more advantageous than relying on trade. "This is because China

AI, agro-processing, gig economy with most job potential: Economic Survey

Economic Survey 2023-24: The gig workforce is expected to expand to 23.5 million by 2029-30, forming 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce, and 4.1% of India's total workforce

Overconfidence leading to speculative market activity a concern: Eco Survey

The Indian stock market, the survey said, was among the best-performing markets, with India's Nifty 50 index rising 26.8 per cent during fiscal FY24, as against a drop of 8.2 per cent during FY23

Economic Survey: What it says on trade, private sector investment and more

The Economic Survey 2024 touched on private sector investment, noting visible green shoots but urging caution. Here's why