The Chief Economic Advisor Venkatramanan Anantha Nageswaran said on Tuesday that India's growth will be hugely dependent on digital investments as they would be the growth magnet in the coming years. Nageswaran spoke about India's digital public infrastructure after the Economic Survey 2023 was tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday.
According to the Economic Survey analysis, Nageswaran said that the reforms adopted by the Central government in the last eight years would guide the country to perform better in this decade.
Even as banking clean up went on, reforms of the last eight years spanning multiple dimensions including digital, social and physical infrastructure were taking place even as banking clean up was going on, Nageswaran said during the presentation of the Economic Survey on Tuesday.
He added that the basic recovery of the economy is complete post-pandemic, and the non-banking and corporate sectors now have healthy balance sheets. The leverage ratio in the corporate sector went very high in the first decade of the millennium. The second decade was the payback time and excessive credit growth had to be adjusted for in the second decade. The balance sheets have been repaired and credit growth is picking up. The Economic Survey showed that the economy is expected to grow between 6 per cent and 6.8 per cent in the next financial year, starting April 1, down from 7 per cent projected for the current year, according to FM Nirmala Sitharaman. The survey said its baseline scenario for growth for 2023 -- 24 was 6.5 per cent.
Nageswaran said that he believes that the Indian economy is poised to grow faster once the global shocks of the Russian-Ukraine conflict have pushed the commodity prices down. He added that even the IMF is positive about India's growth.
In its World Economic Outlook Update, the IMF maintained India's GDP forecast for current FY at 6.8 per cent, next FY at 6.1 per cent and for 2024 -- 25 at 6.8 per cent. He said that the recovery of the economy is complete.
Govt's quality of public expenditure went up.
CEA Nageswaran said that the philosophy of economic management revolves around making it easier for people and businesses to pursue their economic activities, leading to increased potential for higher growth. It's not just about the government being an enabler, but rather a partner. The share of private sector investment in agriculture has reached a high level, as a result of various government initiatives. The sector is no longer about being a primary sector, it has tremendous export potential as well. The government has become more transparent with its Budget deficit numbers. There is increased transparency in public procurement. He said that Various dimensions have resulted in improved expenditure management.