Representative image of a survey.
Credit: iStock Photo
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1. As per reports Modi government is considering cutting income tax for individuals earning up to Rs 15 lakhs per annum in February's budget to provide relief to the middle class and boost consumption as the economy slows.
Prior to the Budget, however, Sitharaman is set to present the Economic Survey on January 31.
Let’s have a bird’s eye view of what an Economic Survey means.
An Economic Survey, in simple terms, is a survey that is conducted to review the financial developments of the country in the last fiscal year.
It also plays a great role in analysing different trends in various sectors of the economy like agriculture, industrial production, export, import infrastructure, among other things.
The survey can also have a look at other economic reforms that can have a great influence on the Budget.
Contents
It generally has two parts:
a. Part that talks about the economic challenges that India faces
b. Part that deals with the analysis of the previous year
Presentation
The Economic Survey is presented a day before the presentation of the actual Budget. It is prepared under the supervision of the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA).
History
The first Economic Survey was presented in the lower House of the Parliament in 1950-51. It continued to be a part of the Union Budget, but since 1964, it has been de-linked and is being presented much earlier.
Themes
It is interesting to note that Economic Surveys have themes on which they are based.
For example, in the year 2016-17, the theme was ‘Saving Lives and Livelihoods’.
For the year 2017-18, it was ‘Women Empowerment’.
Similarly, the theme for 2021-22 was ‘Agile approach’ signifying the measures taken to counter the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Economic Survey is an important tool to design a Budget as it provides a full-fledged feedback and also acts as a guide by pointing out the priorities the Finance Ministry has to take in the next financial year.
However, the Economic Survey is non-binding. That means the government may reject all the recommendations made in the survey.