On Monday, the Union government presented the Economic Survey 2023-24 in both houses of Parliament. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled this pre-budget document, a day ahead of the full Budget presentation for 2024-25.
The Economic Survey was presented 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 highly anticipated, as several major economies around the world are struggling, while India continues to hold its status as the fastest-growing economy.
What is an Economic Survey
The Economic Survey, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the Chief Economic Adviser, offers insights into the state of the economy for the fiscal year 2023-24 (April-March) and provides an outlook for the current year.
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It serves as a report card on the economy, presenting growth prospects and policy challenges. The Survey provides statistical information and analysis on various sectors of the economy, including data on employment, GDP growth, inflation, and the budget deficit.
History of the Economic Survey
The Economic Survey was first introduced in 1950-51 as part of the budget documents. In the 1960s, it was separated from the Budget documents and has since been presented the day before the Union Budget. Each year, the Survey includes a central theme.
In 2022, the theme was ‘Agile Approach’, focusing on India’s economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the theme was ‘recovery complete’, highlighting the economy’s recovery from pandemic-induced contraction, the Russian-Ukraine conflict, and inflation.
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That’s a Record
All eyes were on the major announcements made by the Finance Minister and the government’s guidance on the overall economy. With this upcoming Budget presentation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman surpassed the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964 as Finance Minister. Sitharaman’s upcoming budget speech will be her seventh, surpassing the records of Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, who each presented five budgets.
