Monday, July 22, 2024

Economic Survey : Govt unveils 'Amrit Kaal' growth strategy, 6 key focus areas ::::: Govts in India spend enough resources to look after farmers


Here are the six areas that the survey, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 22 a day ahead of the budget, said would need to be worked on for the growth push.







Boosting Private Investment: The strategy emphasizes a deliberate focus on increasing private sector investment to stimulate economic growth.

Expanding MSMEs: Prioritizing the growth and expansion of India’s Mittelstand (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) is highlighted as a strategic priority, recognizing their significant role in the economy.


Agriculture as a Growth Engine: The government aims to unlock the potential of agriculture as a major growth driver by removing existing policy impediments.

Green Transition Financing: Securing financing for India's green transition is identified as essential for sustainable development and environmental protection.


Bridging the Education-Employment Gap: Addressing the disconnect between education and employment is crucial to ensure that the workforce is equipped with relevant skills.


Building State Capacity and Capability: A focused effort is required to enhance the capacity and capability of state institutions to effectively implement policies and drive growth.





A case can be made that Indian farmers can be served better with some re-orientation of existing and new policies : Economic Survey 


The Economic Survey tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says “Yet, a case can be made that they can be served better with some re-orientation of existing and new policies. 

"A panoply of policies – by national and sub-national governments - working at cross purposes with each other is hurting farmers’ interests, destroying soil fertility, depleting groundwater, polluting rivers and the environment with nitrous oxide emissions, starving the crops of nutrients and undermining people’s health with a diet rich in sugar and carbohydrates rather than fibre and protein,” the survey said.  


The agriculture sector is one area ripe for and in need of such a pan-India dialogue. 

“Agriculture and farmers matter for a nation. India is no exception. India subsidises their water, electricity and fertilisers. The former two are provided virtually free. Their incomes are not taxed.”


“The government offers them a minimum support price (MSP) for 23 selected commodities. Monthly cash support is offered to farmers through the PM-KISAN scheme. Indian governments – national and sub-national –write off their loans. So, governments in India spend enough resources to look after the farmers well,” the economic survey read.


Hiring in IT sector unlikely to pick up significantly, says Economic Survey  


The comment on the IT sector in the Survey comes at a time when headcount in some of the biggest IT companies declined for the first time in decades. In February, tech industry body Nasscom had said the sector will create just 60,000 new jobs in the FY24, which pales in comparison to the 270,000 jobs that the sector created in the previous fiscal year.


Nonetheless, the additions in FY24 would take the total to 5.43 million employees in the services export sector.


“However, leveraging the initiatives taken by the government and capturing the untapped potential in emerging markets, exports of business, consultancy and IT-enabled services can expand,” the Survey read.






States need to do their part, Centre fuelling rapid infra growth : Economic Survey


It highlights that National Highways construction increased by three times from 11.7 km per day in FY14 to 34 km per day by FY24 while capital expenditure on Railways has increased by 77 per cent in the past five years, with significant investments in the construction of new lines, gauge conversion and doubling. 


Similarly, in FY24, new terminal buildings at 21 airports have been operationalised, which has led to an overall increase in passenger handling capacity by approximately 62 million passengers per annum.


Besides, India’s rank in the International Shipments category in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index has improved to 22nd in 2023 from 44th in 2014. “Given that infrastructure-creation efforts in India are currently predominantly public sector-led, a higher level of private sector financing and resource mobilisation from new sources will be crucial for India to continue down the path of building quality infrastructure. 


Facilitating this would not only require policy and institutional support from the Central government, but state and local governments would have to play an equally important role,” the Survey states.


ends 




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