Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey 2025 on January 31, ahead of the Union Budget 2025. This comprehensive document, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs under the guidance of Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran, provides crucial insights into the performance of the Indian economy over the past year and forecasts key economic indicators for the upcoming financial year. With a more complex domestic economic context, as noted by the CEA, the Economic Survey will be pivotal in understanding the government’s strategy for addressing ongoing challenges.
The Economic Survey 2024-2025 comes at a critical juncture, following a weaker-than-expected GDP growth in the first two quarters of FY 2024-25 and slower-than-anticipated consumption trends. Key themes to watch for include employment generation, inflation management, fiscal sustainability, and the outlook for sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services. The government is also expected to provide insights into how it plans to navigate global uncertainties, including the geopolitical challenges posed by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and global supply chain disruptions.
As is tradition, the Economic Survey 2025 will provide a clear snapshot of India’s economic health and offer guidance on fiscal policies that will be key to shaping the Union Budget 2025-26, which will be presented the following day, on February 1. This year, the government is likely to focus on sustaining growth while tackling key issues such as inflation, unemployment, and economic inequality, paving the way for the strategic fiscal decisions that will follow in the Budget.
