FM Nirmala Sitharaman tables Economic Survey 2024-25 in Lok Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented the Economic Survey for 2024-25 in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Following this, the houses were adjourned for the day. As per tradition, the Finance Minister tabled this pre-budget document, which provides an in-depth view of the state of the economy, one day ahead of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26.

Understanding the Economic Survey

The Economic Survey, crafted by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and overseen by the Chief Economic Adviser, offers key insights into the economy’s performance during 2024-25 (April-March).

It also provides an outlook for the next fiscal year and often gives an indication of the tone and direction of the upcoming Union Budget. The Economic Survey has been presented separately from the Budget since the 1960s, but it originally began as part of the budget documents in 1950-51.

Economic Growth and Outlook

India’s economy grew by 5.4 percent in real terms during the July-September quarter of 2024-25. This growth was slower than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) forecast of 7 percent for the quarter.

The growth in the April-June quarter also fell short of the RBI’s earlier projections. In light of this, the RBI has revised its growth forecast for 2024-25 down to 6.6 percent, compared to the earlier estimate of 7.2 percent.

However, the government expects a growth rate of 6.4 percent for the fiscal year. Despite these slower quarters, India’s GDP grew by 8.2 percent in 2023-24, maintaining its position as the fastest-growing major economy, following growth rates of 7.2 percent in 2022-23 and 8.7 percent in 2021-22.

Budget Session 2025

The budget session of Parliament is scheduled to begin on January 31 and will conclude on April 4. The Union Budget for 2025-26 will be presented on February 1.

Finance Minister Sitharaman will deliver her budget speech at 11 am in the Lok Sabha, where she will outline the government’s fiscal policies, revenue and expenditure plans, taxation reforms, and other significant proposals.

With this upcoming budget, Sitharaman will have presented her eighth budget.