Economic Survey Projects India’s FY19 Growth At 7-7.5 Per Cent, Fiscal Deficit At 3.2 Per Cent

India’s Economic Survey, authored by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian and tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament on the first day of the Budget session, says the economy is expected to expand at 7-7.5 per cent in the financial year 2018-19, Mint has reported.

The survey also noted that the economy is likely to grow at 6.75 per cent in 2017-18 against 6.5 per cent estimated by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

“A series of major reforms undertaken over the past year will allow real GDP growth to reach 6.75 percent this fiscal and will rise to 7.0 to 7.5 percent in 2018-19, thereby re-instating India as the world‘s fastest-growing major economy,” it read.

According to the survey, private investment is poised to rebound in the fiscal year 2019 and employment, education and agriculture will remain the focus in the medium term. It noted that the rise in crude oil prices in the international market could be a major risk to India’s growth during the next fiscal year.

The Survey underlined the need to stabilizing the Goods and Services Tax regime, completing TBS (twin balance sheet) actions, privatising Air India, and removing threats to macroeconomic stability.

“The TBS actions, noteworthy for cracking the long-standing ‘exit’ problem, need complementary reforms to shrink unviable banks and allow greater private sector participation,” the survey added.