Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Tables Economic Survey in Parliament. Here's How it Affects You

New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Economic Survey in Parliament on Tuesday. News18 brings an explainer on why the annual financial exercise is important.

WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC SURVEY?

The Economic Survey is usually presented a few days before the Budget is tabled in Parliament.

The survey reviews the developments in the Indian economy in the last one year post the last Budget, summarises the performance on major development programmes, and highlights the policy initiatives of the government and the prospects of the economy.

The Economic Survey, prepared by the chief economic advisor, is presented to both Houses of Parliament during the Budget Session. Arvind Subramanian is the chief economic adviser now.

ARE THERE POLICY CHANGES IN THE DOCUMENT?

Economic surveys have been used before to recommend policy changes, sometimes even sweeping measures. Last year, for instance, the survey recommended the rollout of Universal Basic Income (UBI), a poverty alleviation plan involving direct money transfer to people’s bank accounts.

ARE THESE CHANGES BINDING?

The government is not bound to follow these recommendations and only serve as a guideline along with suggestions. The Economic Survey, in the past, has favoured policy moves that come into conflict with the official line of thinking of the government in power. These do not necessarily serve as pointers to what to expect in the annual Budget. On many occasions, policy changes recommended in the Economic Survey have not been reflected in Budget proposals.

HOW DIFFERENT IS THIS YEAR'S SURVEY FROM PREVIOUS ONES?

Earlier, the survey came as a single volume divided into two parts. The first part contained commentary; the second part carried statistics.

Since last year the survey has been presented in two volumes—tabled seven months apart. The move to advance the Budget’s presentation by a month to February 1 from February 28 has prompted a modification to a two-volume system. In the modified construct, the first part is tabled in the last week of January, with commentary and outlook, while the second volume, presented in July-August contains updated macroeconomic data and analyses.

This year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will table the Survey on January 29, Monday—three days before he presents the Union Budget for 2018-19 on February 1.