New Delhi : The Economic Survey tabled in Parliament today is a morale-booster India growth story , projecting 6.5-7 per cent economic expansion for the fiscal 2024-25 supported by robust services sector, promising manufacturing and investor enthusiasm as reflected in encouraging rise in gross fixed capital formation, ASSOCHAM has said.
‘‘Noteworthy is the fact that Survey’s promising GDP projections for the current financial year come in the backdrop of 8.2 per cent economic growth in 2023-24. Growth is well spread across different sectors like manufacturing , real estate and construction , as pointed out by the important document presented in Parliament, ” ASSOCHAM Deepak Sood Secretary General said.
He said a stellar increase of 19.8 per cent in Gross Fixed Capital Formation in the private sector non-financial corporations in FY’23 would have contributed immensely to overall impressive performance in the subsequent year . ” The trend is expected to continue this fiscal as well and appears to be secular in nature,” Mr Sood said.
Deepak Sood shared the optimism about the Indian economy, as affirmed by the Economic Survey. Describing it as a bold document , he said “The way Survey has emphasised the need for creating 78.5 lakh jobs annually till 2030, signals the government’s resolve to leverage the fourth global industrial revolution, taking advantage of new age technologies like AI . The industry would join these efforts to steer different technological choices with eyes on creating quality jobs, as pressed upon by the Survey”, the ASSOCHAM Secretary General said.
The chamber noted that the Survey has aptly emphasised the importance of deregulation and the catalyst role of the private sector in boosting investment. Specific stress on expanding the Indian manufacturing sector for generation of employment for ”semi -skilled” workforce needs to be complimented.
The ASSOCHAM noted that while a robust industrial growth of 9.5 per cent is to be applauded , manufacturing supported by both domestic and global investors and demand can lead to consistent increase of its share in the country’s GDP. The chamber agreed with the assessment that physical infrastructure, logistics and compliance bottlenecks have significantly improved over the last few years, thus creating a right environment for increased industrial activities.
The role of MSMEs and its formalisation into the economy through various government initiatives like Udyam Registration Portal, different schemes on credit guarantees has been well recognised in the Economic Survey.
The chamber said it goes to the credit of the Chief Economic Adviser Dr V Anantha Nageswaran to suggest a clear roadmap for a smooth energy transition and dealing with the impact of climate change. The document has also listed challenges like difficulties in land acquisition , access to technology and the subsidy blueprint.