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Journalism of Courage
Even as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman readies to present the interim Budget speech on Thursday, the first day of the Budget Session on Wednesday saw a departure from the usual: the Economic Survey was not tabled in the House.
The Economic Survey is prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) and presented by the Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha on January 31 every year — a day ahead of the Budget presentation on February 1. It sums up the state of the country’s economy through various key indicators in the last financial year. However, this year, the Economic Survey and the full Budget will be presented when a new government comes into power after the Lok Sabha polls.
Instead, the Centre has released a report on India’s journey from the past 10 years titled ‘Indian Economy–A Review’. “This is not the Economic Survey of India prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs. That will come before the full budget after the general elections,” the preface of the document reads. It goes on to say that the country will become a $5 trillion economy in the next three years and can aspire for $7 trillion by 2030.
On the first day of the Budget Session, President Droupadi Murmu said the centuries-old desire to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya has now been fulfilled as she listed the achievements of the Modi government over the past 10 years. In her 75-minute address to the members of both Houses of Parliament assembled in the Lok Sabha chamber of the new Parliament building, Murmu also hailed the armed forces for giving a befitting reply to terrorism and expansionism — an apparent reference to Pakistan and China. She also listed out the economic reforms undertaken by the government that has pushed India from the group of “fragile five” to the “top five” economies in the world.
The Economic Survey 2023-24 pegged GDP growth for the fiscal in a range of 6-6.8 per cent.
