AMN /
India’s Economic Survey has predicted a GDP growth of 7 to 7.75 per cent in 2016-17. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today presented the Economic Survey in Parliament. The Survey for 2015-16 presents an optimistic picture of the national economy amidst a volatile international economic environment.
It says the government will meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.9 per cent of GDP. Inflation will ease between 4.5 to 5 per cent in 2016-17. The Current Account Deficit is likely to be in a low range of 1 to 1.5 per cent. The Survey underlined that the country’s economic growth is amongst the highest in the world. The report said the increase in wages as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission is unlikely to destabilise prices and will not impact on inflation.
The Survey said major public investments have been undertaken to strengthen the country’s infrastructure. It also pointed out that the wholesale price inflation has been negative for more than a year. The consumer price inflation has also declined to about half of what it used to be in earlier years. It points out that with the decline in the inflation rate, the Reserve Bank brought down the repo rate by 125 basis point at the beginning of 2015 to 6.75 per cent by the end of September 2015.
The Survey expects a good performance by the industrial, corporate and infrastructure sectors in the wake of various recent reform measures taken by the government. The growth in freight carriage by Indian Railways, shipping, civil aviation and the telecommunications sector has been impressive.
The Survey points out that the rupee has overcome the depreciation pressure better than the currencies of most of the countries. The Survey says that the gaps in sectors like education, health and housing has to be bridged. It underlines that the country’s tax system will undergo a compete change after the proposed Constitution amendment Bill on Goods and Services Tax, GST, is passed.