New Delhi:Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for helping the Indian economy "navigate through the rocky water" and said the Economic Survey 2023 reaffirmed the same.
"Economic Survey 2023 reaffirms that a seasoned captain PM @narendramodi has smoothly navigated the economy through the rocky waters of the pandemic. When the world is suffering a slowdown, growth and optimism in all sectors show that India is set to emerge as a global superpower," Shah tweeted.
His tweet came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Economic Survey 2022-23 presents a comprehensive analysis of India's growth trajectory, including the global optimism towards the country. Modi tweeted, "The Economic Survey presents a comprehensive analysis of India's growth trajectory including the global optimism towards our nation, focus on infra, growth in agriculture, industries and emphasis on futuristic sectors."
India's economy is projected to slow to 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year starting April but will remain the fastest-growing major economy in the world as it fared better in dealing with the extraordinary set of challenges the globe has faced, the Economic Survey said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the survey in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
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Experts from various sectors have hailed the Economic Survey 2022-23, saying the report has highlighted India's growth path amid several headwinds and suggested measures to tackle global challenges going forward. "The survey has rightly highlighted India's growing and diversifying merchandise trade, as the goods exports increased to USD 332.8 billion during April-December 2022-23 as against USD 305 billion during the same period previous fiscal. The country has been able to face the global headwinds strongly and has shown its resilience especially the exports sector on the back of strong macro fundamentals," FIEO President A Sakthivel said.
New diversified markets, including those of Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia have led to the increase in exports by up to 2 times, he said. Increasing market size can be mainly attributed to trade pacts, especially the recently concluded FTAs (free trade agreements) with UAE and Australia. The ongoing trade negotiations with UK, EU, Canada and Israel will also add further impetus to the country's exports, he added.
Arindam Guha, Partner, Government & Public Services, Deloitte India, said: "The survey suggests a holistic approach on ease of living which covers physical amenities like housing, water & sanitation and related infrastructure, use of digital platforms for quicker approvals etc. While the survey also has a separate chapter on climate, going forward we do expect this to be interwoven with ease of living through initiatives like the LIFE framework." The economic survey indicates that the budget will bring support policies for trade and industry to a greater extent, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said.
"Slow movement of economic growth over the globe has certainly affected India's exports in the second half of the year 2022. At a time when most of the countries are facing financial crisis, it needs to be appreciated that the central government has kept the Indian economy moving in its right direction. However, in the survey, the borrowing cost is projected to remain higher which is a cause of concern for the trade & commerce," CAIT National President B C Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in a joint statement.
