16:37 (IST)
Health insurance coverage in states with PM-JAY scheme is 10 percentage points higher
A comparison of states that have implemented PM-JAY and those that haven’t shows that health insurance coverage in states that have implemented is 10 percentage points higher,” CEA KV Subramanian said.
16:35 (IST)
CEA says credit ratig mechanisms need upgrade, claims India’s debt sustainable
Even if India were to have the real GDP growth rate as low as 3.8% from FY 23 to FY 29, debts will still come down. The Economic Survey highlights potential of public investment, especially in a slowdown; calls for fiscal policy to support growth. Willingness to repay has been gold standard for India. Ability to repay is also very very high for India. So India should have highest credit rating, said Subramanian.
16:14 (IST)
Sensex falls 589 points, Nifty settles below 13,650
The domestic equity market continued its downward journey for the sixth session in row on Friday, with the BSE Sensex plummeting over 588 points and the NSE Nifty tumbling nearly 183 points due to across-the-board selling. Both benchmark indices fluctuated between gains and losses in a highly volatile session.
16:08 (IST)
India is the fifth-biggest economy, says CEA
Are sovereign credit rating based on fundamentals in India’s case? India is the fifth-biggest economy. Fifth-biggest economy is normally rated AAA. There are only two anomalies — India and China. When China was fifth-largest, it was rated AA-, India is rated BBB-. He said that credit ratings do not reflect its fundamentals.
15:59 (IST)
Even without lockdown, pandemic would have created significant economic impact, says CEA
Even without the lockdown the pandemic would have created significant economic impact, CEA KV Subramanian said during a presser on Friday. He said that households tend to hold back on discretionary spending in uncertain times such as the pandemic. The focus is more on saving for a rainy day ahead. He said that these measures would have been taken by individual citizens to protect themselves with or without the lockdown, and the contact-based industries would have been the worst hit.
15:47 (IST)
Early stringent lockdown helped India avoid 37L cases, 1L deaths: Economic Survey
Presenting the Economic Survey of India, CEA KV Subramanian said that the imposition of a stringent lockdown early on helped India avoid 37.1 lakh cases and over 1 lakh deaths. He said the analysis was done taking into account the population density, healthcare infrastructure etc.
15:35 (IST)
CEA KV Subramanian begins presses on Economic Survey
Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian is addressing a press conference presenting the Economic Survey ahead of the Budget presentation due on 1 February.
15:30 (IST)
Rajya Sabha adjourned
The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha have been adjourned till 1 February 2021.
15:30 (IST)
India to log 2% current account surplus; first positive balance in 17 years
The Economic Survey 2020-21 on Friday projected India’s current account to register a surplus of 2 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in FY21.
India’s exports and imports saw a sharp contraction in line with the contraction in global trade. The decline in imports outweighed that in exports leading to smaller trade deficit of $ 9.8 billion as compared to $ 49.2 billion in Q1 last year. India registered a trade surplus in the month of June, 2020 after a gap of 18 years. With the unlocking of the economy from June onwards, a gradual revival in India’s merchandise trade got underway. The trade deficit during the April-December, 2020-21 was $ 57.5 billion as compared to $ 125.9 billion in the corresponding period last year,” the survey said.
The last surplus was recorded in FY03 when the exports shrank because of weak economy.
15:14 (IST)
Proceedings of the House begin in Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha proceedings have begun. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu is reading out obituary references to members of the House of Elders who passed away while the house was not in session and also prominent leaders
15:04 (IST)
Survey calls for adequate capitalisation of public sector banks
The Economic Survey 2021 has called for adequate capitalisation of public sector banks. If capital is not provided, lenders may resort to risk-shifting, which will impact real economic recovery.
“Under-capitalised banks may again resort to risk-shifting and zombie lending, thereby severely exacerbating the problem. The adverse impact could then spill over to the real economy through good borrowers and projects being denied credit. The resultant drop in the investment rate of the economy could then lead to the slowdown of economic growth,” it said, according to MoneyControl.
15:01 (IST)
Private trains likely by 2023-24, Economic Survey predicts
The Economic Survey predicted that air passenger travel is predicted to reach pre-COVID level in early 2021.
Additionally, the bidding process for private trains is expected to be completed by May 2021 and private trains are likely to be introduced in 2023-24.
14:46 (IST)
Manufacturing, construction worst-hit by pandemic: Economic Survey 2021
Agriculture has remained the silver lining, while contact-based services, manufacturing and construction sectors were the worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Economic Survey stated.
Softening of CPI inflation recently reflects easing of supply side constraints that affected food inflation, according to the Survey.
The Survey also calls for more active, counter cyclical fiscal policies while at the same time emphasising that this is “not a call for fiscal irresponsibility”.
14:31 (IST)
Economy will take two years to reach pre-pandemic level: Economic Survey
Healthcare has taken the centrestage in the Economic Survey 2021, which will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha shortly. Healthcare would entail a growth in real GDP by 2.4 percent over the absolute level of 2019-20.
This implies that the economy would take two years to reach the pre-pandemic level. “Key role of the government is to actively shape the structure of the healthcare market,” the Survey states.
14:23 (IST)
Sovereign credit rating needs to be less subjective: Economic Survey
The Economic Survey states that India’s sovereign credit rating does not reflect its fundamentals.
“Never in the history of sovereign credit ratings has the 5th largest economy been rated as the lowest rung of investment grade (BBB -). India’s fiscal policy must not remain beholden to a noisy, biased measure of India’s fundamentals. India’s forex reserves can cover an additional 2.8 standard deviation negative event. It is imperative that sovereign credit rating methodology be made more transparent, less subjective,” the document stated, according to CNBC-TV18.
14:12 (IST)
GDP estimated to contract by 7.7%: Economic Survey 2021
As per the Economic survey 2021, FY21 gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to contract by 7.7 percent, according to MoneyControl.
However, India’s real gross domestic product is expected to grow by 11 percent, making it one of the nations to bounce back strongly from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This prediction concurs with the estimates of the RBI (7.5 percent contraction), and the Central Statistics Office (7.7 percent contraction).
14:05 (IST)
WATCH: Nirmala Sitharaman tables Economic Survey
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2021 in the Lok Sabha, following which the House was adjourned till Monday.
Chief Economic Adviser KV Subramanian will soon address a press conference.
Finance Minister @nsitharaman tables the #EconomicSurvey 2020-’21 in Parliament#EconomicSurvey2021 pic.twitter.com/8VrucWnQeH
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 29, 2021
13:52 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
All you need to know about KV Subramanian:
- Born on 5 May, 1971, Subramanian is an Indian economist who took up the post of CEA in December of 2018 for a period of three years.
- KV Subramanian succeeded Arvind Subramanian, who had assumed the position on 16 October, 2014.
- The present CEA is also the associate professor of finance and executive director for the Centre for Analytical Finance at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.
- Subramanian holds a PhD degree in Financial Economics from the Booth School of Business, University of Chicago (2005), along with an MBA in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta (1999).
- In his graduation, Subramanian did BTech in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur in 1994.
- He has previously worked as a consultant with JPMorgan Chase in New York.
- Subramanian was also one of the founding board members at Bandhan Bank.
- The CEA has been part of several expert committees in the past. Most famously, he has been part of the PJ Nayak Committee and the Uday Kotak Corporate Governance Committee of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
13:35 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
What is Economic Survey?
The Economic Survey is a detailed report on the condition of the country’s economy in the past one year and it is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the guidance of the government’s Chief Economic Advisor (CEA).
13:05 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Venkaiah Naidu reads parts of president’s speech
Aatmanirbhar Bharat isn’t just confined to manufacturing in India but also a campaign aimed at elevating standard of living of every Indian and boosting self-confidence of country, said Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu.
“Our goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat will be further strengthened by self-reliance in agriculture,” said Naidu.
13:01 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Congress in support of farmers, no intention to insult president: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Boycotting president’s address doesn’t mean insulting him. We’re standing with farmers and demanding that farm laws be taken back. It’s our biggest reason behind boycotting the address. We’ll debate when there is a Motion of Thanks and debate, said Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
12:50 (IST)
RLP MP Beniwal raises slogans against farm laws
Delhi: Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) MP Hanuman Beniwal showed a placard and raised slogans, demanding the repeal of the three farm laws, during the President’s Address in the Parliament today.
(Source: Hanuman Beniwal) pic.twitter.com/bnsMH9byoT
— ANI (@ANI) January 29, 2021
12:33 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
President ends Budget speech
President ends the speech quoting Jyotirindranath Tagore, the elder brother of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. “The motherland is calling for all the children of India to live together. With heroism, self-respect, masculinity and pride, all of you together wish for the welfare of the country.”
12:06 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Over 3 lakh beneficiaries of National Education Policy: President
After speaking on various schemes of the Union government on skill development, women empowerment and Rural Livelihood Mission, President Ram Nath Kovind highlighted National Education Policy.
“More than 3 crore 20 lakh students are getting the benefit of various scholarship schemes of the government. These include students belonging to scheduled castes, backward classes, forest dwellers and tribal classes and minority communities,” he said.
For the first time in the National Education Policy, students have been given freedom to read the subject according to their interest. Youngsters have been given the option to change the subject and stream even in the middle of a course.
11:56 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Govt trying to intimidate farmers protesting against agri laws: Congress
The Congress on Friday alleged that the government is trying to divide and intimidate the farmers to break their protest against the three agri laws with former party chief Rahul Gandhi saying that it was time to “choose a side” and he was with the peaceful movement of the tillers.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claimed that on Wednesday night, there was an attempt to finish the farmers’ protest by force and on Thursday farmers were being threatened at Gazipur and Singhu borders.
11:51 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
President lists measures taken by Modi govt for farmers
To help small and marginal farmers, the government has transferred about Rs 1.13 lakh crore directly to their accounts. Apart from that, farmers have also greatly benefited from the Fasal Bima Yojna,” said President Ram Nath Kovind.
11:43 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Rights and facilities not cut under farm laws, says Kovind
The government would like to clarify that the rights and facilities that were available before the formation of the three farm laws have not been cut short, in fact with these new agricultural reforms the govt has provided new facilities and rights to farmers, said President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday.
11:41 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Small and marginal farmers are priority of Modi govt: President
Listing out the measures taken by the Narendra Modi government, the President said that small and marginal farmers are Centre’s priority. “The government is working to develop modern infrastructure for farm sector,” said President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday.
11:37 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
President terms farmers’ protests on R-Day as ‘unfortunate’
The insult of the holy day like tricolor and Republic Day happened in the past is very unfortunate. The Constitution which gives us the right to freedom of expression, the same constitution teaches us that law and rule should be followed equally seriously, said President Ram Nath Kovind during for the joint Parliamentary session.
My government wants to make it clear that before the three new agricultural laws were enacted, there was no reduction in the rights and facilities which were under the old system. Rather, through these agricultural reforms, the government has given new rights to farmers as well as new rights.
11:30 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
President highlights Centre’s flagship Ayushman Bharat
“Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, 1.5 crore poor in the country have received free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. With this, more than 30 thousand crores rupees of these poor are saved from being spent,” said President Ram Nath Kovind during for the joint Parliamentary session.
Today, Ayushman scheme can be availed in any of the more than 24 thousand hospitals in the country. Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Yojana, 7 thousand centers across the country are getting medicines at very cheap rates to the poor, he added.
11:17 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
President delivers opening address to Parliament
“I am satisfied that the timely decision taken by my government saved the lives of lakhs of citizens. Today the number of new COVID-19 cases is going down rapidly. The number of recoveries is very high,” said President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday.
11:04 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Ahead of Budget, LS Speaker to convene all-party meet in Parliament
To seek the cooperation of various parties for the smooth functioning of the Budget session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has convened a meeting of all political parties on Friday which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The session will begin with the President’s address followed by the presentation of the Economic Survey.
The Union Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February. Both the houses will also debate on the Motion of thanks to the President’s address after the budget presentation.
11:00 (IST)
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates
Nirmala Sitharaman to present Economic Survey today
The crucial Budget session of Parliament is set for a stormy start with as many as 18 opposition parties announcing their decision to boycott the President’s address to a joint sitting of both houses on Friday, in solidarity with the farmers agitating against the three contentious farm laws.
The session is also likely to witness acrimonious scenes, with the opposition all set to corner the government on issues like recession, job losses, handling of COVID crisis, LAC stand-off with China and the WhatsApp chat leaks of Arnab Goswami.
Budget 2021 LATEST Updates: Presenting the Economic Survey of India, CEA KV Subramanian said that the imposition of a stringent lockdown early on helped India avoid 37.1 lakh cases and over 1 lakh deaths. He said the analysis was done taking into account the population density, healthcare infrastructure etc
Finance Minister tabled the Economic Survey 2021 in the Rajya Sabha. After an estimated 7.7 percent pandemic-driven contraction in 2020-21, India’s real GDP is projected to record a growth of 11 percent in 2021-22 and the nominal GDP by 15.4 percent, the Survey reads.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha will reconvene at 3 pm.
Aatmanirbhar Bharat isn’t just confined to manufacturing in India but also aimed at elevating standard of living of every Indian and boosting self-confidence of country, said Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu.
The government would like to clarify that the rights and facilities that were available before the formation of the three farm laws have not been cut short, in fact with these new agricultural reforms the govt has provided new facilities and rights to farmers, said President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday.
To help small and marginal farmers, the government has transferred about Rs 1.13 lakh crore directly to their accounts. Apart from that, farmers have also greatly benefited from the Fasal Bima Yojna, said President Ram Nath Kovind.
The national flag and a holy day like Republic Day were insulted in the past few days. The Constitution that provides us Freedom of Expression, is the same Constitution that teaches us that law & rules have to be followed seriously, said President Ram Nath Kovind during for the joint Parliamentary session.
The crucial Budget session of Parliament is set for a stormy start with as many as 18 opposition parties announcing their decision to boycott the President’s address to a joint sitting of both houses on Friday, in solidarity with the farmers agitating against the three contentious farm laws.
The session is also likely to witness acrimonious scenes, with the opposition all set to corner the government on issues like recession, job losses, handling of COVID crisis, LAC stand-off with China and the WhatsApp chat leaks of Arnab Goswami.
Alleging that the farm laws have been pushed by the BJP government without a national consensus, the opposition parties announced their decision on Thursday to boycott the President’s address, a move termed as “most unfortunate” by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi.
To seek the cooperation of various parties for the smooth functioning of the Budget session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has convened a meeting of all political parties on Friday which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The session will begin with the President’s address followed by the presentation of the Economic Survey.
The Union Budget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February. Both the houses will also debate on the Motion of thanks to the President’s address after the budget presentation.
The Economic Survey 2021 will be tabled on 29 January, a couple of days prior to the Union Budget, which will be tabled on 1 February.
President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of both Houses on the same day.
Prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the guidance of the CEA, the Economic Survey is a detailed report on the state of the economy in the past one year. It lists key challenges expected and the way out from them.
The Economic Survey gets approved by the finance minister after the document is prepared. The first Economic Survey was presented in 1960-51 and until 1964, it was released at the time of the Budget.
While the Economic Survey is a crucial document that provides an extensive official version of the government’s take on the economic condition of the country, in reality, the government is not constitutionally bound to present the Economic Survey or to follow the recommendations made in it.
The document also analyses trends in money supply, infrastructure, agricultural and industrial production along with employment, prices, exports, imports, foreign exchange reserves and other important factors that may impact the Budget.
Apart from this, economic magnitudes are grouped, such as how much is set aside for capital formation etc. This helps in better appreciation of the impact of government receipts and expenditure on the other sectors of the economy.
The Economic Survey 2021 is of particular significance as it during the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the First Advance estimates of the government, the economy may contract by 7.7 percent. The survey is likely to outline plans to put the economy back on track to achieve the $5 trillion goal that was set in 2019.