This year's Budget is expected with high interest due to the economic challenges faced globally. Despite this, India has maintained its position as the fastest-growing major economy.
The central government will on Monday (July 22) unveil the Economic Survey 2023-24 in both houses of Parliament. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the pre-budget document a day before presenting the full Budget for 2024-25. It is reportedly said that the Economic Survey will be introduced in the Lok Sabha at 1 pm and in the Rajya Sabha at 2 pm, followed by a press conference by Chief Economic Adviser Anantha Nageswaran.
This year's Budget is expected with high interest due to the economic challenges faced globally. Despite this, India has maintained its position as the fastest-growing major economy.
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What is the Economic Survey?
The Economic Survey, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and supervised by the Chief Economic Adviser, provides an overview of the state of the economy. It offers insights into economic indicators for the fiscal year 2023-24 (April-March) and forecasts for the current year.
The survey serves as a comprehensive report card on the economy, detailing growth prospects, policy challenges, and sectoral performance. It includes statistical data and analysis on employment, GDP growth, inflation, and budget deficits.
Historical context:
The Economic Survey has been a staple of Indian budgetary processes since 1950-51. Originally part of the Budget documents, it was separated and presented a day before the Union Budget in the 1960s. Each year, the central theme of the survey reflects the economic conditions and policy responses.
In 2022, the survey's theme was 'Agile Approach,' focusing on India's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2023 theme, 'Recovery Complete,' highlighted the economy's broad-based recovery from pandemic-induced contractions and external shocks like the Russian-Ukraine conflict.
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Nirmala Sitharaman's record:
With this upcoming budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will set a new record. She will surpass the previous record held by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964. Sitharaman's upcoming budget speech will be her seventh, outpacing her predecessors, including Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, each of whom presented five budgets.