New Delhi: Experts from various sectors have hailed the Economic Survey 2022-23, saying the report has highlighted India’s growth path amid several headwinds and suggested measures to tackle global challenges going forward.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the survey in Lok Sabha Tuesday.
“The survey has rightly highlighted India’s growing and diversifying merchandise trade, as the goods exports increased to $332.8 billion during April-December 2022-23 as against $305 billion during the same period previous fiscal. The country has been able to face the global headwinds strongly and has shown its resilience especially the exports sector on the back of strong macro fundamentals,” FIEO President A Sakthivel said.
New diversified markets, including those of Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia have led to the increase in exports by up to 2 times, he said.
Increasing market size can be mainly attributed to trade pacts, especially the recently concluded FTAs (free trade agreements) with UAE and Australia. The ongoing trade negotiations with UK, EU, Canada and Israel will also add further impetus to the country’s exports, he added.
Arindam Guha, Partner, Government & Public Services, Deloitte India, said: “The survey suggests a holistic approach on ease of living which covers physical amenities like housing, water & sanitation and related infrastructure, use of digital platforms for quicker approvals etc. While the survey also has a separate chapter on climate, going forward we do expect this to be interwoven with ease of living through initiatives like the LIFE framework.”
The economic survey indicates that the budget will bring support policies for trade and industry to a greater extent, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said.
“Slow movement of economic growth over the globe has certainly affected India’s exports in the second half of the year 2022. At a time when most of countries are facing a financial crisis, it needs to be appreciated that the central government has kept the Indian economy moving in the right direction. However, in the survey, the borrowing cost is projected to remain higher which is a cause of concern for the trade & commerce,” CAIT National President B C Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in a joint statement.
Ranen Banerjee – Partner and Leader, Economic Advisory Services, PwC India, said: “The survey has projected a baseline GDP growth of 6.5 per cent for FY24 with a wide range of 6–6.8 per cent for actual growth outcome, which is understandable given the uncertain global economic scenario.
“The message that the growth thrust would be driven by higher capital expenditure, private consumption, credit growth to small businesses, strengthening corporate balance sheets and the return of migrant workers to cities could provide us with some cues about what we can expect in the budget.”
Sharad N Bhattacharya of IIM Shillong said the Budget is expected to provide a roadmap for its priorities and plans for the coming year.
“Agriculture and fertiliser-related announcements will be interesting to watch because they are perceived to have political compulsions and subsidies and waivers in these sectors have frequently contributed to fiscal imbalances,” he said.
PTI
