Following are the highlights of Economic Survey 2016-17 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday:
- GDP growth for next fiscal pegged at 6.75-7.5%
- Growth this fiscal to be 6.5%
- Prescribes cut in individual I-T rates, real estate stamp duties
- Income Tax net could be widened gradually by encompassing all high income earners
- Time table for cutting corporate tax should be accelerated
- Tax administration could be improved to reduce discretion and improve accountability
- Growth to return to normal as new currency comes in circulation
- Demonetisation to affect growth rate by 0.25-0.5%, but to have long-term benefits
- GST, other structural reforms should take the trend growth rate to 8-10%
- Fiscal windfall likely from Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, low oil price
- Farm sector to grow at 4.1% this fiscal, up from 1.2% last year
- Fiscal gains from GST will take time to realise
- Demonetisation may affect supplies of certain agricultural products like sugar, milk, potatoes and onions
- Growth rate of industrial sector to moderate to 5.2% this fiscal, from 7.4% last fiscal
- Efforts to collect taxes on disclosed and undisclosed wealth should not lead to tax harassment
- Universal Basic Income Scheme is an alternative to plethora of state subsidies for poverty alleviation.
- Demonetisation should be followed up with fast and demand-driven remonetisation, tax reforms, GST and lower taxes
- These would allow in returning to trend growth in 2017-18, making India the fastest-growing major economy
- Middle class to get affordable housing due to fall in real estate prices
- Remonetisation to eliminate cash crunch by April 2017
- Balance sheet problem of over-leveraged companies and bad-loan-encumbered banks has continued to fester
- A centralised public sector asset rehabilitation agency needs to look after the largest, most difficult cases and make politically tough decisions to reduce debt
- Addressing the twin balance sheet problem will be vital
- Suggests incentivising states for good fiscal performance
- Demographic dividend to peak in next five years
- Fiscal activism embraced by advanced economies not relevant for India
- Swachh Bharat to promote a broader fundamental right to privacy for women
- Service sector estimated to grow at 8.9% in 2016-17.
Union Budget 2017-18: Complete Coverage
Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters