No Economic Survey On January 31 Ahead Of Interim Budget; Could Lok Sabha Election Be The Reason?

Just a day before the Budget of a fiscal year for the country, a key important document is released which is called as 'Economic Survey'. However, in 2024, the Economic Survey for 2024-25 will not be released on January 31, 2024, ahead of the Interim Budget FY25 on February 1.

So why Economic Survey 2024 will not be presented on its respective date? The reason is the Lok Sabha Election scheduled later in April to May this year. It is being said that because 2024 is an election year, the Budget process may be impacted if there is a change of reign in India.

The budget on February 1, which will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is an 'interim' and not a full-fledged Union Budget. Accordingly, post-election outcomes, both Union Budget and Economic Survey are likely to be presented.

An Economic Survey is prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) which is then presented by the FM in Lok Sabha. The current CEA is V Anantha Nageswaran.

What Is an Economic Survey? It is an annual document by the Finance Ministry which views details like the state of the economy, growth outlook, fiscal developments, monetary management and financial intermediation, prices and movement of inflation, social infrastructure and employment, climate change and environment, while agriculture and food management prospectus. Further, it holds industry-wise performance and outlook including services, and external sectors.

Overall Economic Survey summarizes the overall economic performances, major developments and policy initiatives to drive growth.

The Economic Survey is prepared every year by the DEA, while the Finance Ministry presents it in the Parliament every year, just before the Union Budget. This document is presented in both lower and upper Parliament houses during the Budget session.

As per Wikipedia, the first Economic Survey of India was presented in 1950-51 as part of the Union Budget. After 1964 it was separated from the Budget and presented each year during the Budget Session before the presentation of the budget.[2] The document is non-binding. Nevertheless, is constructed and presented each year due to its significance.

Although the Economic Survey will not be presented on January 31, the DEA office did announce the Indian Economy Review In January 2024.

Under the review of January 2024, the document said, it is eminently possible for the Indian economy to grow in the coming years at a rate above 7% on the strength of the financial sector and other recent and future structural reforms.

Further, the Economic Review document added, "Only the elevated risk of geopolitical conflicts is an area of concern. Priority areas for future reforms include skilling, learning outcomes, health, energy security, reduction in compliance burden for MSMEs, and gender balancing in the labour force."

Furthermore, it said, that under a reasonable set of assumptions concerning the inflation differentials and the exchange rate, India can aspire to become a USD 7 trillion economy in the next six to seven years (by 2030). This will be a significant milestone in the journey to delivering a quality of life and standard of living that match and exceed the aspirations of the Indian people.

In the next three years, India is expected to become the third-largest economy in the world, with a GDP of USD 5 trillion. The government has, however, set a higher goal of becoming a 'developed country' by 2047. Economic Review had said this "goal is achievable".