What happened?
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2024-25 in Lok Sabha, within six months from the last one, which was presented in July 2024. As per the same, India’s real GDP is expected to grow 6.5 percent in FY25, which remains relatively stable and close to the decadal average.
Why It matters to India:
As India doubles down on its ambition to become a $5 trillion economy over the next few years, the Economic Survey is a key document that annually indicates the state of the country’s macroeconomic health, as well as comprehensive analysis of fiscal trends, monetary policy, external trade, infrastructure developments, socio-economic policies and impact, and so on.
Among many other highlights, this year’s Survey showcased strength in the country’s agriculture sector, recovery of the industrial sector to above the pre-pandemic trajectory, and the softening of retail inflation from 5.4% to 4.9%. India’s gross FDI inflows also seemed to have somewhat revived, from $47.2 billion in FY 24 (first 8 months) to $55.6 billion in the same period of FY 25. Overall, the Survey argued that “the fundamentals of the domestic economy remain robust, with a strong external account, calibrated fiscal consolidation and stable private consumption,” but highlighted that India’s growth plans will require large investments in infrastructure.