Daily Current Capsules - 6^th JULY 2019

Economic Survey 2018-19 ( Part - II )
Relevance IN - Prelims ( the important take outs and facts about the status of economy) + Mains ( GS II various policies and interventions of the government + GS III economic development and government budgeting)
What's the NEWS

• The Economic Survey 2018-19, the first survey of Modi 2.0 Government, was tabled in Parliament today by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• The Survey has projected the real GDP growth at 7 percent for the year 2019-20, considering the expected pickup in the growth of investment and consumption.
• As per the April 2019 World Economic Outlook Report of International Monetary Fund (IMF), India's GDP is projected to grow even higher at 7.3 percent in 2019.

Know! the Key Highlights of Economic Survey 2018-19

• India will have housing for all, free from corruption, communalism and nepotism by 2024.
• Several measures have been undertaken for clean banking in recent years such as through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)
• Transparency was achieved through Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 and Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
• India will celebrate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in October 2019, the final year of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
• Rs 60000 crore were allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA)
• Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana has been launched to provide medical treatment for 50 crore people.
• The 22nd AIIMS will come up in Haryana.
• ‘Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi' was announced to provide assured income to small and marginal farmers. Vulnerable farmers with 2 hectares of land will be given Rs 6000 per year.
• 'Pradhan Mantri Shram-Yogi Maandhan', a mega pension scheme was announced for unorganised sector.
• Women empowerment: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana for pregnant women has provided financial support to women while empowering them to participate in work.
• MSME: A scheme of sanctioning loans upto 'Rs 1 crore in 59 minutes' has been launched. GST-registered MSME units will get 2 percent interest rebate on incremental loan of Rs 1 Crore.
• Railways: India's first indigenously developed "Vande Bharat Express" has been launched to provide world class experience to Indian passengers with speed, service and safety.
• Capital Expenditure for 2019-20 is estimated to be Rs 3,36,292 crore.
• Taxation Reforms: Individual tax payers with taxable income of up to Rs 5 lakh will get full tax rebate. Those earning Rs 6.5 lakh will not have to pay tax, if they invested in specified savings such as PF, PPF, etc.

Know! about Economic Survey

• The Economic Survey is prepared by the Union Government after reviewing the Indian economy over the last 12 months.
• The Economic Survey is tabled in the Parliament every year, a day before the presentation of the Union Budget. The survey is prepared by the Union Finance Ministry.
• The Economic Survey is prepared under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser in the Finance Ministry.
• The Economic Survey is an annual document prepared by the Union Finance Ministry after reviewing the economic situation of the country.
• The Economic Survey comprises detailed data on macro economy and other sectors. The Economic Survey includes key economic statistics, policy ideas and detailed research on macro and sectoral trends.
• The Economic Survey 2019 will serve as a guideline for the Union Budget 2019.

GDP Growth

• The April, 2019 Report of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) of International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India's GDP to grow even higher at 7.3 percent in 2019.
• This is despite the Report projecting a decline in growth of world output and that of Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) by 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points respectively.

• India continues to remain the fastest growing major economy in the world in 2018-19, despite a slight moderation in its GDP growth from 7.2 per cent in 2017-18 to 6.8 per cent in 2018-19.
• Decline in world output growth declined from 3.8 per cent in 2017 to 3.6 per cent in 2018.

Reason of slowdown

1. The US China trade tensions
2. Tighter credit policies in China
3. Financial tightening alongside the normalization of monetary policy in the larger advanced economies.

The deficits

• On the external front, current account deficit (CAD) increased from 1.9 per cent of GDP in 2017-18 to 2.6 per cent in April-December 2018.
• The widening of the CAD was largely on account of a higher trade deficit driven by rise in international crude oil prices (Indian basket).
• The trade deficit increased from US$ 162.1 billion in 2017-18 to US$ 184 billion 218-19.
• Merchandise imports reduced from 21.1 per cent to 10.4 per cent. Growth in service exports and imports in US dollar terms declined to 5.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively in 2018-19, from 18.8 per cent and 22.6 per cent respectively in 2017-18.
• The foreign exchange reserves in nominal terms (including the valuation effects) decreased by US$ 11.6 billion end-March 2019 over end-March 2018.
• Within the year, foreign exchange reserves were declining until October 2018 due to RBI's intervention to modulate exchange rate volatility.
• India's foreign exchange reserves continue to be comfortably placed at US $ 422.2 billion, as on 14th June 2019.

• Indian banking sector has been dealing with twin balance sheet problem, which refers to stressed, corporate and bank balance sheets.
• The increase in Non-Performing Assets (NPA) of banks led to stress on balance sheets of banks, with the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) taking in more stress.
• Consumption has always been a strong and major driver of growth in the economy. Although the share of private consumption in GDP remains high, the pattern of consumption has undergone some changes over time- from essentials to luxuries and from goods to services
• Decline in investment rate and fixed investment rate since 2011-12, seems to have bottomed out with some early signs of recovery since 2017-18.
• Fixed investment growth picked up from 8.3 per cent in 2016-17 to 9.3 per cent in 2017-18 and further to 10.0 per cent in 2018-19.
• The decline in fixed investment until 2016-17 was mainly by the household sector, with fixed investment by public sector and private corporate sector remaining almost at same levels.
• In 2017-18, investment rate in services sector became the highest. Investment rate in agriculture still continues to lag behind and now is half the investment rate in the industry sector.
• Simultaneously, there has been a decline in savings rate as well, with the household sector entirely contributing to the decline. Household savings declined from 23.6 % in 2011-12 to 17.2 % in 2017-18.
• Service sector is the most dynamic sector in the economy and has remained the key driver of economic growth along with being a major contributor to GVA and export basket of the Indian Economy.
• Service exports has become one of the mainstay of India's total exports increasing manifold, from Rs. 0.746 lakh crore in 2000-01 to Rs. 14.389 lakh crore in 2018-19, raising its share in total exports from 26.8 per cent to 38.4 per cent.
• Share of India in world service exports has also increased from 2 per cent in 2005 to 3.5 per cent in 2017. This share is much higher than that of manufacturing exports which stands at 1.8 per cent in 2017.

• Real growth in ‘Agriculture & allied' sector was lower in 2018-19 at 2.9 per cent, after two years of good agriculture growth.

 

 

 
Shifting gears: Private Investment as the Key Driver of Growth, Jobs, Exports and Demand

• Survey states that pathways for trickle-down opened up during the last five years; and benefits of growth and macroeconomic stability reached the bottom of the pyramid.
• Sustained real GDP growth rate of 8% needed for a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.
• "Virtuous Cycle" of savings, investment and exports catalyzed and supported by a favorable demographic phase required for sustainable growth.
• Private investment- key driverfor demand, capacity, labor productivity, new technology, creative destruction and job creation.
• Survey departs from traditional Anglo-Saxon thinking by viewing the economy as being either in a virtuous or a vicious cycle, and thus never in equilibrium.
• Key ingredients for a self-sustaining virtuous cycle:

• Presenting data as a public good.
• Emphasizing legal reforms.
• Ensuring policy consistency.
• Encouraging behavior change using principles of behavioral economics.
• Nourishing MSMEs to create more jobs and become more productive.
• Reducing the cost of capital.
• Rationalizing the risk-return trade-off for investments.

Policy for Real People, Not Robots: Leveraging the Behavioral Economics of "Nudge"

• Decisions by real people deviate from impractical robots theorized in classical economics.
• Behavioral economics provides insights to ‘nudge' people towards desirable behavior.
• Key principles of behavioral economics:

• Emphasizing the beneficial social norm.
• Changing the default option.
• Repeated reinforcements.

 

• Using insights from behavioral economics to create an aspirational agenda for social change:

• From ‘Beti Baco Beti Padhao' to ‘BADLAV' (Beti Aapki Dhan Lakshmi Aur Vijay Lakshmi).
• From ‘Swachh Bharat' to ‘Sundar Bharat'.
• From ‘Give it up" for the LPG subsidy to ‘Think about the Subsidy'.
• From ‘Tax evasion' to ‘Tax compliance'.

Nourishing Dwarfs to become Giants: Reorienting policies for MSME Growth

• Survey focuses on enabling MSMEs to grow for achieving greater profits, job creation and enhanced productivity.
• Dwarfs (firms with less than 100 workers) despite being more than 10 years old, account for more than 50% of all organized firms in manufacturing by number.
• Contribution of dwarfs to employment is only 14% and to productivity is a mere 8%.
• Large firms (more than 100 employees) account for 75% employment and close to90% of productivity despite accounting for about 15% by number.
• Survey also focuses on service sectors such as tourism, with high spillover effects on other sectors such as hotel & catering, transport, real estate, entertainment etc., for job creation.

Ending Matsyanyaya: How to Ramp up Capacity in the Lower Judiciary

• Delays in contract enforcement and disposal resolution are arguably now the single biggest hurdle to the ease of doing business and higher GDP growth in India.
• Around 87.5 per cent of pending cases are in the District and Subordinate courts.
• 100 per cent clearance rate can be achieved by filling out merely 2279 vacancies in the lower courts and 93 in High Courts.
• States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal need special attention.
• Productivity improvements of 25 percent in lower courts, 4 percent in High Courts and 18 percent in Supreme Court can clear backlog.

India's Demography at 2040: Planning Public Good Provision for the 21st Century

• Sharp slowdown in population growth expected in next 2 decades. Most of India to enjoy demographic dividend while some states will transition to ageing societies by 2030s.
• National Total Fertility Rate expected to be below replacement rate by 2021.
• Working age population to grow by roughly 9.7mn per year during 2021-31 and 4.2mn per year during 2031-41.
• Significant decline to be witnessed in elementary school-going children (5-14 age group) over next two decades.
• States need to consolidate/merge schools to make them viable rather than build new ones.
• Policy makers need to prepare for ageing by investing in health care and by increasing the retirement age in a phased manner.

From Swachh Bharat to Sundar Bharat via Swasth Bharat: An Analysis of the Swachh Bharat Mission

• Traceable health benefits brought about by Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).
• 93.1% of the households have access to toilets.
• 96.5% of those with access to toilets are using them in rural India.
• 100% Individual Households Latrine (IHHL) Coverage in 30 states and UTs.
• Financial savings from a household toilet exceed the financial costs to the household by 1.7 times on average and 2.4 times for poorest households.
• Environmental and water management issues need to be incorporated in SBM for sustainable improvements in the long-term.

Enabling Inclusive Growth through Affordable, Reliable and Sustainable Energy

• 2.5 times increase in per capita energy consumption needed for India to increase its real per capita GDP by $5000 at 2010 prices, and enter the upper-middle income group.
• 4 times increase in per capita energy consumption needed for India to achieve 0.8 Human Development Index score.
• India now stands at 4th in wind power, 5th in solar power and 5th in renewable power installed capacity.
• Rs 50,000 crore saved and 108.28 million tonnes of CO2 emissions reduced by energy efficiency programmes in India.
• Share of renewable (excluding hydro above 25 MW) in total electricity generation increased from 6% in 2014-15 to 10% in 2018-19.
• Thermal power still plays a dominant role at 60% share.
• Market share of electric cars only 0.06% in India while it is 2% in China and 39% in Norway.
• Access to fast battery charging facilities needed to increase the market share of electric vehicles.

Effective Use of Technology for Welfare Schemes - Case of MGNREGS

• Survey says that efficacy of MGNREGS increased with use of technology in streamlining it.
• Significant reduction in delays in the payment of wages with adoption of NeFMS and DBT in MGNREGS.
• Demand and supply of work under MGNREGS increased, especially in distressed districts.
• Vulnerable sections of the society viz. women, SC and ST workforce increased under MGNREGS during economic distress.

Redesigning a Minimum Wage System in India for Inclusive Growth

• Survey proposes a well-designed minimum wage system as a potent tool for protecting workers and alleviating poverty.
• Present minimum wage system in India has 1,915 minimum wages for various scheduled job categories across states.
• 1 in every 3 wage workers in India not protected by the minimum wage law.
• Survey supports rationalization of minimum wages as proposed under the Code on Wages Bill.
• Minimum wages to all employments/workers proposed by the Survey.
• ‘National Floor Minimum Wage' should be notified by the Central Government, varying across five geographical regions.
• Minimum wages by states should be fixed at levels not lower than the ‘floor wage'.
• Minimum wages can be notified based either on the skills or on geographical region or on both grounds.
• Survey proposes a simple and enforceable Minimum Wage System using technology.
• ‘National level dashboard' under the Ministry of Labour & Employment for regular notifications on minimum wages, proposed by the Survey.
• Toll-free number to register grievance on non-payment of the statutory minimum wages.
• Effective minimum wage policy as an inclusive mechanism for more resilient and sustainable economic development.

State of the Economy in 2018-19: A Macro View

• India still the fastest growing major economy in 2018-19.
• Growth of GDP moderated to 6.8 per cent in 2018-19 from 7.2 per cent in 2017-18.
• Inflation contained at 3.4 per cent in 2018-19.
• Current account deficit manageable at 2.1 percent of GDP.
• Fiscal deficit of Central Government declined from 3.5 percent of GDP in 2017-18 to 3.4 percent in 2018-19.

Money Management and Financial Intermediation

• Banking system improved as NPA ratios declined and credit growth accelerated.
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code led to recovery and resolution of significant amount of distressed assets and improved business culture.
• Benchmark policy rate first hiked by 50 bps and later reduced by 75 bps last year.
• Liquidity conditions remained systematically tight since September 2018 thus impacting the yields on government papers.

Prices and Inflation

• Headline inflation based on CPI-C continuing on its declining trend for fifth straight financial year remained below 4.0 per cent in the last two years.
• Food inflation based on Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) also continuing on its declining trend for fifth financial year has remained below 2.0 per cent for the last two consecutive years.

Sustainable Development and Climate Change

• India's SDG Index Score ranges between 42 and 69 for States and between 57 and 68 for UTs:

• Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are the front runners with a score of 69 amongst states.
• Chandigarh and Puducherry are the front runners with a score of 68 and 65 respectively among the UTs.

 

• Namami Gange Mission launched as a key policy priority towards achieving the SDG 6, with a budget outlay of INR. 20,000 crore for the period 2015-2020.
• For mainstreaming Resource Efficiency approach in the development pathway for achieving SDGs, a national policy on Resource Efficiency should be devised.
• A comprehensive NCAP launched in 2019 as a pan India time bound strategy for:

• Prevention, control and abatement of air pollution
• Augmenting the air quality monitoring network across the country.

 

• Achievements in CoP 24 in Katowice, Poland in 2018:

• Recognition of different starting points for developed and developing countries.
• Flexibilities for developing countries.
• Consideration of principles including equity and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities.

External Sector

• As per WTO, World trade growth slowed down to 3 per cent in 2018 from 4.6 per cent in 2017. Reasons:

• Introduction of new and retaliatory tariff measures.
• Heightened US-China trade tensions.
• Weaker global economic growth.
• Volatility in financial markets (WTO).

 

• In Indian rupee terms growth rate of exports increased owing to depreciation of the rupee while that of imports declined in 2018-19.
• Net capital inflows moderated in April-December of 2018-19 despite robust foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, outweighed by withdrawals under portfolio investment.
• India's External Debt was US$ 521.1 billion at end-December 2018, 1.6 per cent lower than its level at end-March 2018.
• The share of foreign direct investment has risen and that of net portfolio investment fallen in total liabilities, reflecting a transition to more stable sources of funding the current account deficit.

Composition of India's exports and import basket in 2018-19(P)

• Exports (including re-exports): INR23, 07,663 Cr.
• Imports: INR35, 94,373 Cr.
• Top export items continue to be Petroleum products, precious stones, drug formulations, gold and other precious metals.
• Top import items continue to be Crude petroleum, pearl, precious, semi-precious stones and gold.
• India's main trading partners continue to be the US, China, Hong Kong, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Agriculture and Food Management

• Agriculture sector in India typically goes through cyclical movement in terms of its growth.

 

• Gross Value Added (GVA) in agriculture improved from a negative 0.2 per cent in 2014-15 to 6.3 per cent in 2016-17 but decelerated to 2.9 per cent in 2018-19.

 

• Gross Capital Formation (GCF) in agriculture as percentage of GVA marginally declined to 15.2 per cent in 2017-18 as compared to 15.6 per cent in 2016-17.
• Women's participation in agriculture increased to 13.9 per cent in 2015-16 from 11.7 per cent in 2005-06 and their concentration is highest (28 per cent) among small and marginal farmers.
• A shift is seen in the number of operational land holdings and area operated by operational land holdings towards small and marginal farmers.
• 89% of groundwater extracted is used for irrigation. Hence, focus should shift from land productivity to ‘irrigation water productivity'. Thrust should be on micro-irrigation to improve water use efficiency.
• Fertilizer response ratio has been declining over time. Organic and natural farming techniques including Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) can improve both water use efficiency and soil fertility.
• Adopting appropriate technologies through Custom Hiring Centers and implementation of ICT are critical to improve resource-use efficiency among small and marginal farmers.
• Diversification of livelihoods is critical for inclusive and sustainable development in agriculture and allied sectors. Policies should focus on

• Dairying as India is the largest producer of milk
• Livestock rearing particularly of small ruminants.
• Fisheries sector, as India is the second largest producer.

Industry and Infrastructure

• Overall Index of Eight Core Industries registered a growth rate of 4.3 percent in 2018-19.
• India's ranking improved by 23 to 77th position in 2018 among 190 countries assessed by the World Bank Doing Business (DB) Report, 2019.
• Road construction grew @ 30 km per day in 2018-19 compared to 12 km per day in 2014-15.
• Rail freight and passenger traffic grew by 5.33 per cent and 0.64 per cent respectively in 2018-19 as compared to 2017-18.
• Total telephone connections in India touched 118.34 crore in 2018-19
• The installed capacity of electricity has increased to 3, 56,100 MW in 2019 from 3, 44,002 MW in 2018.
• Public Private Partnerships are quintessential for addressing infrastructure gaps
• Building sustainable and resilient infrastructure has been given due importance with sector specific flagship programmes such as SAUBHAGYA scheme, PMAY etc
• Institutional mechanism is needed to deal with time-bound resolution of disputes in infrastructure sector

Services Sector

• Services sector (excluding construction) has a share of 54.3 per cent in India's GVA and contributed more than half of GVA growth in 2018-19.
• The IT-BPM industry grew by 8.4 per cent in 2017-18 to US$ 167 billion and is estimated to reach US$ 181 billion in 2018-19.
• The services sector growth declined marginally to 7.5 per cent in 2018-19 from 8.1 per cent in 2017-18.

• Accelerated sub-sectors: Financial services, real estate and professional services.
• Decelerated sub-sectors: Hotels, transport, communication and broadcasting services.

 

• Services share in employment is 34 per cent in 2017.

Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development

• The public investments in social infrastructure like education, health, housing and connectivity is critical for inclusive development.

• Government expenditure (Centre plus States) as a percentage of GDP on

• Health: increased to 1.5 per cent in 2018-19 from 1.2 per cent in 2014-15.
• Education: increased from 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent during this period.

 

• Encouraging Skill Development by: Substantial progress in both quantitative and qualitative indicators of education is reflected

• Introduction of the skill vouchers as a financing instrument to enable youth obtain training from any accredited training institutes.
• Involving industry in setting up of training institutes in PPP mode; in curriculum development; provision of equipment; training of trainers etc.
• Personnel of Railways and para-military could be roped in for imparting training in difficult terrains.
• Create a database of Instructors, skill mapping of rural youth by involving local bodies to assess the demand-supply gaps are some of the other initiatives proposed.

Other finding in the survey

• Net employment generation in the formal sector was higher at 8.15 lakh in March, 2019 as against 4.87 lakh in February, 2018 as per EPFO.
• Around 1, 90, 000 km of rural roads constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) since 2014.
• About 1.54 crore houses completed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) as against a target of 1 crore pucca houses with basic amenities by 31st March, 2019.
• Accessible, affordable and quality healthcare being provided through National Health Mission and Ayushman Bharat scheme for a healthy India.

 

• Alternative healthcare, National AYUSH Mission launched to provide cost effective and equitable AYUSH healthcare throughout the country to address the issue of affordability, by improving access to these services.

 

• Employment generation scheme, MGNREGA is prioritized by increasing actual expenditure over the budgetary allocation and an upward trend in budget allocation in the last four years.
  
  

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