Economic Survey 2021: What you must know

First presented in 1950-51, the Economic Survey is tabled on the opening day of the Budget session. It is prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs under the supervision of the chief economic advisor. The survey spells out the major economic developments of the last one year and also gives an outlook for the future. The Economic Survey 2021 is especially important because of the damage and disruption caused by COVID-19. Here are some of its key and interesting highlights.

• In FY22, India's real GDP is expected to grow by 11 per cent and the nominal GDP by 15.4 per cent.
• In FY21, India's GDP can contract by 7.7 per cent. The growth rate of the agricultural, industrial and services sectors is estimated to be 3.4 per cent, -9.6 per cent and -8.8 per cent, respectively.
• In FY21, India experienced a V-shaped recovery in its GDP growth. After contracting by 23.9 per cent in Q2, the GDP growth stood at -7.5 per cent in Q3.
• India's balance-of-payment position remained strong, with the current account surplus in FY21 estimated to be 2 per cent of GDP, a 17-year high.
• India's forex reserves are at an all-time high of $586.1 billion as on January 8, 2021, covering about 18 months worth of imports.
• The Survey points out that India's credit rating should be higher than what it is now.
  Thanks to the recent rally in markets worldwide, India's market-cap-to-GDP ratio has crossed 100 per cent for the first time since October 2010.
• Monthly GST collections have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark consecutively for the last three months, reaching their highest levels in December 2020 ever since the introduction of the GST.
• FDI equity inflows were up at $49.98 billion in FY20 as compared to $44.37 billion during FY19. As of September 2020, these stood at $30 billion for FY21.
• The Indian start-up ecosystem has been progressing well amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, being home to 38 unicorns (companies worth over $1 billion). A record number of 12 start-ups were to the unicorn list last year.
• India entered the club of top 50 innovating countries for the first time in 2020 since the inception of the Global Innovation Index in 2007, ranking first in Central and South Asia. Interestingly, in India, it is the government and not the business that drives the R&D expenditure. In India, the business sector's contribution to R&D is amongst the lowest when compared to the top 10 economies.
• The Survey advises conducting an asset-quality review of banks immediately after the moratorium is over. It also suggests that the legal infrastructure for the recovery of loans needs to be strengthened.