{"id":753,"date":"2015-02-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-26T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2015-12-31T11:07:48","modified_gmt":"2015-12-31T05:37:48","slug":"highlights-of-economic-survey-2014-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taxclick.org\/type\/miscellaneous\/highlights-of-economic-survey-2014-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Highlights of Economic Survey 2014-15"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Economic Outlook, Prospects and Policy Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7         Macroeconomic fundamentals in 2014-15 have dramatically improved. <\/span>Highlights are:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7         <\/span>Inflation has declined by over 6 percentage points since late 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7         <\/span>The current account deficit has declined from a peak of 6.7 percent of GDP (in Q3, 2012-13) to an estimated 1.0 percent in the coming fiscal year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7         <\/span>Foreign portfolio flows have stabilized the rupee, exerting downward pressure on long-term interest rates, reflected in yields on 10-year government securities, and contributed to the surge in equity prices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7         <\/span>In response to the favourable terms of trade shock (especially with regard to oil), macroeconomic policy has appropriately balanced government savings (two-thirds) and private consumption (one-third).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7         <\/span>After a nearly 12-quarter phase of deceleration, real GDP has been growing at 7.2 percent on average since 2013-14, based on the new growth estimates of the Central Statistics Office. Notwithstanding the new estimates, the balance of evidence suggests that India is a recovering, but not yet a surging, economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         From a cross-country perspective, a <\/span>Rational Investor Ratings Index (RIRI) which combines indicators of macro-stability with growth, illustrates that India ranks amongst the most attractive investment destinations. It ranks well above the mean for its investment grade category (BBB), and also above the mean for the investment category above it (on the basis of the new growth estimates).<\/p>\n

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\u00b7         Several reforms have been undertaken and more are on the anvil.  The introduction of the GST and expanding direct benefit transfers can be game-changers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         Structural shifts in the inflationary process are underway due to lower oil prices, deceleration in agriculture prices and wages, and dramatically improved household inflation expectations. Going forward inflation is likely to remain in the 5-5.5 percent range, creating space for easing of monetary conditions.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         In the short run, growth will receive a boost from the cumulative impact of reforms, lower oil prices, likely monetary policy easing facilitated by lower inflation and improved inflationary expectations, and forecasts of a normal monsoon in 2015-16. <\/span>Using the new estimate for 2014-15 as the base, GDP growth at constant market prices is expected to accelerate to between 8.1 and 8.5 percent in 2015-16.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         Medium-term prospects will be conditioned by the \u201cbalance sheet syndrome with Indian characteristics\u201d that has the potential to hold back rapid increases in private sector investment. Private investment must be the engine of long-run growth.  However,<\/span>there is a case for reviving targeted public investment as an engine of growth in the short run to complement and crowd-in private investment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         India can balance the short-term imperative of boosting public investment to revitalize growth with the need to maintain fiscal discipline. Expenditure control, and expenditure switchingfrom consumption to investment,will be key.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         The outlook is favourable for the current account deficit and its financing. A likely surfeit, rather than scarcity, of foreign capital will complicate exchange rate management. Reconciling the benefits of these flows with their impact on exports and the current account remains an important challenge going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         India faces an export challenge, reflected in the fact that the share of manufacturing and services exports in GDP has stagnated in the last five years. The external trading environment is less benign in two ways: partner country growth and their absorption of Indian exports has slowed, and mega-regional trade agreements being negotiated by the major trading nations in Asia and Europe threaten to exclude India and place its exports at a competitive disadvantage.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         India is increasingly young, middle-class, and aspirational but remains stubbornly male. Several indicators suggest that gender inequality is persistent and high. In the short run, the renewed emphasis on family planning targets,backed by misaligned incentives, is undermining the health and reproductive autonomy of women.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fiscal Framework<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7         <\/span>India must adhere to the medium-term fiscal deficit target of 3 percent of GDP. This will provide the fiscal space to insure against future shocks and also to move closer to the fiscal performance of its emerging market peers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         India must also reverse the trajectory of recent years and move toward the golden ruleof eliminating revenue deficits and ensuring that, over the cycle, borrowing is only for capital formation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         Expenditure control combined with recovering growth and the introduction of the GST will ensure that medium term targets are comfortably met.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         In the short run, the need for accelerated fiscal consolidation is lessened by the dramatically changed macro-circumstances and the less-than-optimal nature of pro-cyclical policy. The ability to do so will be conditioned by the recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC).<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         Nevertheless, to ensure fiscal credibility and consistency with medium-term goals, the process of expenditure control to reduce the fiscal deficit should be initiated. At the same time, the quality of expenditure needs to be shifted from consumption, by reducing subsidies, towardsinvestment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00b7         Finally, implementing the FFC recommendations will lead to states accounting for a large share of total tax revenue.  This has the important implication that, going forward, India\u2019s public finances must be viewed at the consolidated level and not just at the level of the central government. If recent trends in state-level fiscal management continue, the fiscal position at the consolidated level will be on a sustainable path. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Subsidies and the JAM Number Trinity Solution<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n