The Economic Survey provides statistical information and analysis on various sectors of the economy as well as data on employment, GDP growth, inflation and budget deficit.

New Delhi: A day ahead of the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Economic Survey in Parliament on July 22, which will be a report card on the economy and growth outlook. The survey details the state of the economy, prospects and policy challenges. It has been prepared by a team led by Chief Financial Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran.

The Economic Survey provides statistical information and analysis on various sectors of the economy as well as data on employment, GDP growth, inflation and budget deficit. India has retained its tag as the fastest growing economy and the economic survey will be presented at a time when the IMF has recently raised the country's economic growth forecast for FY25 to 7 per cent from 6.8 per cent in April.

Growth Forecast in India

The IMF said, “India's growth forecast has also been revised up to 7 percent this year, a change that reflects an upward revision to growth and improved prospects for private consumption in 2023. In June, the Reserve Bank revised its growth forecast to 7.2 percent from 7 percent. The RBI believes that India is moving towards an 8 per cent GDP growth path on a sustained basis due to structural economic reforms like GST.

“If you look at India's average growth recorded over three years, the average is 8.3 per cent and we have forecast 7.2 per cent growth for the current year,” said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. He also said that in the last financial year 2023-24 Indian economy has contributed 18.5 percent to the global growth which is a big achievement as it was very less 7 or 8 years ago. He also said that the IMF has predicted that this growth will increase.

Union Budget: Lower customs duty expected on import of medical devices

Ahead of the upcoming Union Budget 2024-25, experts on Thursday called for a reduction in customs duties on global medical equipment imports. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present the Union Budget 2024 on July 23. Speaking to IANS, Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) president Pawan Chaudhary said, “We expect the government to reduce customs duty on medical imports. Equipment.

He noted that compared to neighboring countries Sri Lanka and Nepal, where customs duty is only 5 percent, India's is 7.5-10 percent. In addition, India also levies another ad valorem tax of 5 per cent and an education cess of 1 per cent, which takes it to 13 to 16 per cent,” Chowdhury said. Ad valorem tax is a tax derived from assessed value. “This figure is high considering that 70 to 80 per cent of the products consumed in India are imported. The cost ultimately has to be borne by the patient,” he said.

(with input from agencies)