Economic Survey: CEA lays out growth trajectory; 'India's GDP poised to do better'

India's GDP growth is poised to do better in the remainder of the decade, Chief Economic Advisor Anantha Nageswaran said Tuesday, January 31 after the Economic Survey 2022-23 released. The CEA highlighted how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pegged India's economic growth at 6.8% in Financial Year (FY) 23, 6.1% in FY24, and 6.8% in FY25.

Nageswaran spoke on the questions dealt with in the Economic Survey- Why is the economy going to perform better this decade? What the reforms of the last 8 years have done to make sure that happens, and beyond 2030 what will be India's medium-term growth magnets? As we look ahead to 2047, what more could we do to realise India's full potential? 

'The pandemic response & recovery phase is over' 

The Chief Economic Advisor said, "The survey looks ahead to the medium term because the pandemic response and recovery phase is over. And therefore, after a long time, we have the banking, non-banking, and corporate sectors with healthy balance sheets and they are ready to borrow, lend, and invest." 

Nageswaran summarised the 2000s as 'the tale of successive shocks that challenged the Indian economy'. With the help of an infographic, he showed how between 2005-2012, the leverage ratio in the corporate sector went very sharply. The second decade he referred to as a 'payback time' with higher Non-Performing Assets (NPA) in 2015, Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS) collapse in 2018, and the outbreak of the pandemic in 2019. 

"Excessive credit growth had to be adjusted for in the second decade, balance sheets now have been repaired, & credit growth is picking up," he said. 

'Reforms of the last 8 years span multiple dimensions'

Coming to the reforms undertaken in the last eight years, the Chief Financial Advisor said, "It was not purely economic reforms for higher growth. It is also about inclusive growth, financial inclusion, banking cleanup, creation of digital public infrastructure, contribution to a healthy India and ease of living, physical infrastructure creation, facilitating investment, and transparent taxes. ease of doing business and farmers' welfare."

#EconomicSurvey 2022-23 points out that the story of reforms in last eight years strikes a parallel to the reforms undertaken during 1998 - 2002 pic.twitter.com/yOXKB32lfD

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Further, Nageswaran acknowledged that the effect of reforms did not reflect in data in past years due to successive one-off shocks and said that it will start showing now. 

Watch Chief Economic Advisor Anantha Nageswaran's full press conference here:- 

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Press Conference by Chief Economic Advisor V . Anantha Nageswaran on #EconomicSurvey 2022-23 at National Media Centre, New Delhi

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