The Economic Survey highlights the prevailing strengths of our economy, Prime Minister Modi says
India’s real GDP is projected to grow between 6.5–7 per cent in 2024-25, says the Economic Survey 2023-24 presented in Parliament on Monday (July 22, 2024) by Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman.
 
This is due to the Indian economy recovering swiftly from the pandemic, with its real GDP in FY24 being 20 per cent higher than the pre-Covid, FY20 levels. At the same time, the global trade outlook for 2024 remains positive, with merchandise trade expected to pick up after registering a contraction in volumes in 2023, the Survey notes.

The Economic Survey says that India’s economy showed resilience to a gamut of global and external challenges as real GDP grew by 8.2 percent in FY 24, exceeding 8 percent mark in three out of four quarters of FY 24, driven by stable consumption demand and steadily improving investment demand.
 
The Survey, however, cautions that any escalation of geopolitical conflicts in 2024 may lead to supply dislocations, higher commodity prices, reviving inflationary pressures and stalling monetary policy easing with potential repercussions for capital flows. This can also influence RBI’s monetary policy stance.

According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Economic Survey highlights the prevailing strengths of our economy and also showcases the outcomes of the various reforms brought by the Government.
 
“The Economic Survey highlights the prevailing strengths of our economy and also showcases the outcomes of the various reforms our Government has brought. It also identifies areas for further growth and progress as we move towards building a Viksit Bharat," he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. 
 
Here are some key takeaways from the Economic Survey 2023-24:

1. Shares of the agriculture, industry and services sectors in overall Gross Value Added (GVA) at current prices were 17.7 per cent, 27.6 per cent and 54.7 per cent respectively in FY24. GVA in the agriculture sector continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace, as the erratic weather patterns during the year and an uneven spatial distribution of the monsoon in 2023 impacted overall output.
 
2. Within the industrial sector, manufacturing GVA shrugged off a disappointing FY23 and grew by 9.9 per cent in FY24, as manufacturing activities benefitted from reduced input prices while catering to stable domestic demand. 

3. Similarly, construction activities displayed increased momentum and registered a growth of 9.9 per cent in FY24 due to the infrastructure build out and buoyant commercial and residential real estate demand.
 
4. Both Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections and the issuance of e-way bills, reflecting wholesale and retail trade, demonstrated double-digit growth in FY24. Financial and professional services have been a major driver of growth post the pandemic, the survey added.

5. With cleaner balance sheets and adequate capital buffers, the banking and financial sector is well-positioned to cater to the growing financing needs of investment demand.
 
6. Despite global supply chain disruptions and adverse weather conditions, domestic inflationary pressures moderated in FY24. After averaging 6.7 per cent in FY23, retail inflation declined to 5.4 per cent in FY24.

7. Against the global trend of widening fiscal deficit and increasing debt burden, India has remained on the course of fiscal consolidation. The fiscal deficit of the Union Government has been brought down from 6.4 per cent of GDP in FY23 to 5.6 per cent of GDP in FY24, according to provisional actuals (PA) data released by the Office of Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
 
8. The capital expenditure for FY24 stood at ₹9.5 lakh crore, an increase of 28.2 per cent on a YoY basis, and was 2.8 times the level of FY20. The Government’s thrust on capex has been a critical driver of economic growth amidst an uncertain and challenging global environment. 

9. Spending in sectors such as road transport and highways, railways, defence services, and telecommunications delivers higher and longer impetuses to growth by addressing logistical bottlenecks and expanding productive capacities.
 
10. The all-India annual unemployment rate (persons aged 15 years and above, as per usual status) has been declining since the pandemic and this has been accompanied by a rise in the labour force participation rate and worker-to-population ratio.