A day ahead before Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget 2017, the government will on Tuesday, table the Economic Survey for 2016-17 in Parliament around noon. This year’s Economic Survey will have a report of how the government has fared after the tough demonetisation decision was taken in November 2016. There was an economic slowdown and a severe cash crunch in the Indian economy.
Here is what we need to look for in the official report on the economy- The Economic Survey
Demonetisation: First and foremost, the Economic Survey will give a detailed account of how much Indian economy has faltered in terms of numbers and figures after the much-talked about demonetisation decision was announced and implemented. The sudden decision had taken away 86 per cent or Rs 15.44 crore worth of currency out of circulation.
Black money: The demonetisation move was aimed at curbing black money in the economy. Whether or not the government has been successful will be narrated in the Economic Survey. There are no official estimates of India’s black economy yet so the survey may give an insight into the official estimates of the unaccounted money in the economy.
Gross Domestic Product: The GDP projection is likely to be the most talked about topic when the Economic Survey is tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. The figures will be a reflection of how the government thinks it has been able to fare after the cash crunch the economy and how it expects to fight back.
Global scenario: Over the years, India has made a striking progress in its contribution to the global growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). PPP represents the number of units of a country’s currency required to purchase the same amount of goods and services in the domestic market as the US dollar would purchase in the United States, thus adjusting for purchasing power differentials between currencies in relevant markets. The observations in the Economic Survey at a time when crude oil prices are are on the rise will be something to watch out for.
Universal basic income: The Economic Survey this year may feature a chapter on universal basic income. The Chief Economic Adviser had recently promised to float the idea to let the government think over it. A universal basic income is a form of social security where the State transfers a sum of money to poor citizens to supplement their income to reach a certain threshold.
