2.

Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley Presented Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament today
3. Economic Survey: The Constitutional Amendment on GST will create a common Indian market, improve tax
compliance and govern...
4. GDP growth in 2017-18 is projected at 6 to 7 percent Post-demonetisation
5. Good fiscal performance by States should be incentivized to keep the overall fiscal performance on track: Economic
Survey ...
6. Economic Survey 2016-17 suggests setting up of a centralised Public Sector Asset Rehabilition Agency
7. Economic Survey: Universal Basic Income (UBI) Scheme an alternative to plethora of State subsidies for poverty
alleviation;
8. Real per capita GSDP between 1983 and 2014, shows across-the-board improvement: Economic Survey 2016-17
9. In creating one Economic India, Technology, Economics and Politics are Surging Ahead
10. Property Tax can be tapped to generate Additional Revenue at City Level
11. Apparel and Leather industry key to generation of formal and productive jobs: Economic Survey 2016-17
12. Labour migration in India increasing at an accelerating rate, reveals new study: Economic Survey 2016-17
13. Redistributive Resource Transfers (RRT) should be significantly linked to fiscal and governance efforts on the part of
the...
14. Economic Survey advocates reforms to unleash economic dynamism and social justice
15. Fiscal activism embraced by advanced economies not relevant for India: Economic Survey 2016-17

3
Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley Presented
Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament today
Economic Survey says economic growth to return to normal as new currency notes in required quantities come
back into circulation and follow-up action on demonetisation is taken.

The CPI based core inflation remained stable in the current fiscal year averaging around 5 per cent.

The Economic Survey says that the rupee performed better than most of the other emerging market
economies.

The total area coverage under Rabi crops as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 616.2 lakh hectares which is 5.9 per
cent higher than that in the corresponding week of last year.

The area coverage under Gram (Channa Dal) as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 10.6 percent higher than that in
the corresponding week of last year.

The Indian Economy has sustained a macro-economic environment of relatively lower inflation, fiscal discipline and
moderate current account deficit coupled with broadly stable rupee-dollar exchange rate. The Economic Survey 2016-17
presented in the Parliament today by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley states that such a sustenance is despite
continuing global sluggishness. It says :

As per the advance estimates released by the Central Statistics Office, the growth rate of GDP at constant market prices
for the year 2016-17 is placed at 7.1 per cent, as against 7.6 per cent in 2015-16.This estimate is based mainly on
information for the first seven to eight months of the financial year. Government final consumption expenditure is the major
driver of GDP growth in the current year.

Fixed investment (gross fixed capital formation) to GDP ratio (at current prices) is estimated to be 26.6 per cent in 2016-
17, vis--vis 29.3 per cent in 2015-16.

For 2017-18, it is expected that the growth would return to normal as the new currency notes in required quantities come
back into circulation and as follow-up actions to demonetisation are taken. On balance, there is a likelihood that Indian
economy may recover back to 6 per cent to 7 per cent in 2017-18.

5
 Fiscal

Indirect taxes grew by 26.9 per cent during April-November 2016.

The strong growth in revenue expenditure during April-November 2016 was boosted mainly by a 23.2 per cent increase
in salaries due to the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and a 39.5 per cent increase in the grants for creation
of capital assets.

Prices

The headline inflation as measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained under control for the third successive
financial year. The average CPI inflation declined to 4.9 per cent in 2015-16 from 5.9 per cent in 2014-15 and stood at 4.8
per cent during April-December 2015.

6
 Inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) declined to (-) 2.5 per cent in 2015-16 from 2.0 per cent in 2014-15
and averaged 2.9 per cent during April-December 2016.

Inflation is repeatedly being driven by narrow group of food items, of these pulses continued to be the major contributor
of food inflation.

The CPI based core inflation has remained sticky in the current fiscal year averaging around 5 per cent.

Trade

The trend of negative export growth was reversed somewhat during 2016-17 (April-December), with exports growing at
0.7 per cent to US$ 198.8 billion. During 2016-17 (April-December) imports declined by 7.4 per cent to US$ 275.4
billion.

Trade deficit declined to US$ 76.5 billion in 2016-17 (April-December) as compared to US$ 100.1 billion in the
corresponding period of the previous year.

The current account deficit (CAD) narrowed in the first half (H1) of 2016-17 to 0.3 per cent of GDP from 1.5 per cent in
H1 of 2015-16 and 1.1 per cent in 2015-16 full year.

Robust inflows of foreign direct investment and net positive inflow of foreign portfolio investment were sufficient to finance
CAD leading to an accretion in foreign exchange reserves in H1 of 2016-17.

In H1 of 2016-17, Indias foreign exchange reserves increased by US$ 15.5 billion on BoP basis.

During 2016-17 so far, the rupee has performed better than most of the other emerging market economies.

External Debt

At end-September 2016, Indias external debt stock stood at US$ 484.3 billion, recording a decline of US$ 0.8 billion
over the level at end-March 2016.

Most of the key external debt indicators showed an improvement in September 2016 vis--vis March 2016. The share of
short-term debt in total external debt declined to 16.8 per cent at end-September 2016 and foreign exchange reserves
provided a cover of 76.8 per cent to the total external debt stock.

Indias key debt indicators compare well with other indebted developing countries and India continues to be among the
less vulnerable countries.

Agriculture

Agriculture sector is estimated to grow at 4.1 per cent in 2016-17 as opposed to 1.2 per cent in 2015-16; the higher
growth in agriculture sector is not surprising as the monsoon rains were much better in the current year than the previous two
years.

The total area coverage under Rabi crops as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 616.2 lakh hectares which is 5.9 per cent
higher than that in the corresponding week of last year.

The area coverage under wheat as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 7.1 percent higher than that in the corresponding week
of last year. The area coverage under gram as on 13.01.2017 for 2016-17 is 10.6 percent higher than that in the
corresponding week of last year.

8
 Industry

Growth rate of the industrial sector is estimated to moderate to 5.2 per cent in 2016-17 from 7.4 per cent in 2015-
16.During April-November 2016-17, a modest growth of 0.4 per cent has been observed in the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP).

10
 The eight core infrastructure supportive industries, viz. coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel,
cement and electricity registered a cumulative growth of 4.9 per cent during April-November 2016-17 as compared to 2.5
per cent during April-November 2015-16. The production of refinery products, fertilizers, steel, electricity and cement
increased substantially, while the production of crude oil, natural gas fell during April-November 2016-17. Coal production
attained lower growth during the same period.

The performance of corporate sector (Reserve Bank of India, January 2017) highlighted that the growth of sales grew by
1.9 per cent in Q2 of 2016-17 as compared to near stagnant growth of 0.1 per cent in Q1 of 2016-17. Growth in net profit
registered a remarkable growth of 16.0 per cent in Q2 of 2016-17 as compared to 11.2 per cent in Q1 of 2016-17.

Services

Service sector is estimated to grow at 8.9 per cent in 2016-17, almost the same as in 2015-16. It is the significant pick-
up in public administration, defence and other services, boosted by the payouts of the Seventh Pay Commission that is
estimated to push up the growth in services.

Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development

The Parliament has passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Act aims at securing and enhancing
the rights and entitlements of Persons with Disabilities. The Act has proposed to increase the reservation in vacancies in
government establishments from 3 per cent to 4 per cent for those persons with benchmark disability and high support
needs.

**********

DSM/KSP/SS

11
Economic Survey: The Constitutional Amendment on
GST will create a common Indian market, improve tax
compliance and govern...
The Economic Survey states that the world GDP is expected to grow because of a fiscal stimulus in the United
States but points out

that there are considerable risks.

Economic Survey: Addressing the Twin Balance Sheet problem of over-indebted corporates and bad-loan-
encumbered Public Sector Banks will be vital.

The Economic Survey 2016-17 presented in Parliament today states that against the backdrop of robust macro-
economic stability, the year was marked by two major domestic policy developments-the passage of the Constitutional
Amendment, paving the way for implementing the transformational Goods and Services Tax (GST), and the action to
demonetize the two highest denomination notes. The GST will create a common Indian market, improve tax compliance and
governance, and boost investment and growth; it is also a bold new experiment in the governance of Indias cooperative
federalism.

The Survey Report says that demonetisation has had short-term costs but holds the potential for long-term benefits.
Follow-up actions to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits include: fast, demand-driven, remonetisation; further tax
reforms, including bringing land and real estate into the GST, reducing tax rates and stamp duties; and acting to allay
anxieties about over-zealous tax administration. These actions would allow growth to return to trend in 2017-18, possibly
making it the fastest-growing major economy in the world, following a temporary dip in 2016-17.

The Economic Survey 2016-17 states that the year was also marked by some tumultuous external developments. In the
short-run, world GDP growth is expected to increase because of a fiscal stimulus in the United States but there are
considerable risks. These include higher oil prices, and eruption of trade tensions from sharp currency movements, especially
involving the Chinese yuan, and from geo-political factors. Another serious medium-term risk is an upsurge in protectionism
that could affect Indias exports.

The Survey states that the year also saw a number of legislative accomplishments in the country. In addition to the GST,
the Government:

verhauled the bankruptcy laws so that the exit problem that pervades the Indian economy--with deleterious
consequences highlighted in last years Survey--can be addressed effectively and expeditiously;

Codified the institutional arrangements on monetary policy with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to consolidate the gains
from macroeconomic stability by ensuring that inflation control will be less susceptible to the whims of individuals and the
caprice of governments; and

Solidified the legal basis for Aadhaar, to realise the long-term gains from the JAM trifecta (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-
Mobile).

Beyond these headline reforms were other less-heralded but nonetheless important actions. The Government enacted a

12
package of measures to assist the clothing sector that by virtue of being export-oriented, labour-intensive could provide a
boost to employment, especially female employment. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) successfully
finalized the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform. By facilitating inter-operability, UPI has the potential to unleash the
power of mobile phones in achieving digitalization of payments and financial inclusion, and making the M an integral part of
JAM. Further FDI reform measures were implemented, allowing India to become one of the worlds largest recipients of
foreign direct investment. The government has also adhered to a steady and consistent path of fiscal consolidation.

The major short term macro-economic challenge is to re-establish private investment and exports as the major drivers of
growth and reduce reliance on Government and private consumption. Addressing the Twin Balance Sheet problemover-
indebted corporates and bad-loan-encumbered public sector banksa legacy of the years surrounding the Global Financial
Crisis will be vital.

Looking further ahead, societal shifts at the level of ideas and narratives will be needed to overcome three long-standing
meta-challenges: inefficient redistribution, ambivalence about the private sector and property rights, and improving but still-
challenged state capacity. Doing so would lift an economy that is oozing with potential. In the aftermath of demonetisation,
and at a time of gathering gloom about globalization, articulating and embracing those ideational shifts will be critical to
ensuring that Indias sweet spot is enduring not evanescent.

The report says that India seems to be a demographic sweet spot with its working age population projected to grow by a
third over the next three decades providing it a potential the growth boost from the demographic divided which is likely to
peak within next five years.

The Survey report also states that the Swachh Bharat which has the objective of ensuring safe and adequate sanitation,
water security and hygiene has been a part of serious policy issue which would promote a broader fundamental right to
privacy for women in the country.

**********

DSM/KSP/SS

13
GDP growth in 2017-18 is projected at 6 to 7
percent Post-demonetisation
The Government says that the adverse impact of demonetisation on GDP growth will be transitional. The Economic
Survey 2017 presented in Parliament today by
the union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley states that once the cash supply is replenished, which is likely to be achieved
by end March 2017, the economy would revert to the normal. Therefore the real GDP growth in 2017-18 is projected to
be in the range of 6-7 percent.

The Economic Survey points out that d

emonetisation will have both short-term costs and long-term benefits as detailed in the attached table. Briefly, the costs
include a contraction in cash money supply and subsequent, albeit temporary, slowdown in GDP growth; and benefits
include increased digitalization, greater tax compliance and a reduction in real estate prices, which could increase long-run
tax revenue collections and GDP growth.

On the benefits side, early evidence suggests that digitalization has increased since demonetisation. On the cost side,
effective cash in circulation fell sharply although by much less than commonly believed a peak of 35 percent in December,
rather than 62 percent in November since many of the old high denomination notes continued to be used for transactions in
the weeks after 8th November Additionally, remonetisation will ensure that the cash squeeze is eliminated by April 2017.
The cash squeeze in the meantime will have significant implications for GDP, reducing 2016-17 growth by to
percentage points compared to the baseline of 7 percent. Recorded GDP will understate impact on informal sector because,
for example, informal manufacturing is estimated using formal sector indicators (Index of Industrial Production).

These contractionary effects will dissipate by year-end when currency in circulation should once again be in line with
estimated demand, which would also allow growth to converge to a trend by FY 2017-18.

The Economic Survey states that the weighted average price of real estate in eight major cities which was already on a
declining trend fell further after November 8, 2016 with the announcement of demonetization. It goes on to add that an
equilibrium reduction in real estate prices is desirable as it will lead to affordable housing for the middle class and facilitate
labour mobility across India currently impeded by high and unaffordable rents.

The Survey suggests a few measures to maximize long-term benefits and minimize short-term costs. One, fast
remonetisation and especially, free convertibility of cash to deposits including through early elimination of withdrawal limits.
This would reduce the GDP growth deceleration and cash hoarding. Two, continued impetus to digitalization while ensuring
that this transition is gradual, inclusive, based on incentives rather than controls and appropriately balancing the costs and
benefits of cash versus digitalization. Three, following up demonetisation by bringing land and real estate into the GST. Four,
reducing tax rates and stamp duties. And finally, an improved tax system could promote greater income declaration and
dispel fears of over-zealous tax administration.

Impact of Demonetisation

Sector Impact

Effect through end- Likely longer-

December term effect

14
 Cash will recover
Money/interest Cash declined
but settle at a lower
rates sharply
level

Deposits will
Bank deposits decline, but
increased sharply probably settle at a
slightly higher level

RBI's balance sheet

largely unchanged:
RBI's balance
return of currency
sheet will shrink,
reduced the central
after the deadline for
banks cash liabilities
redeeming
but increased its
outstanding notes
deposit liabilities to
commercial banks

Interest rates on Loan rates could

deposits, loans, and fall further, if much
government securities of the deposit
declined; implicit rate increase proves
on cash increased durable

Increase, to the
Financial extent that the cash-
Increased
System Savings deposit ratio falls
permanently

Corruption Could decline, if

(underlying incentives for
illicit activities) compliance improve

Unaccounted
income/black Stock Formalization
money should reduce the
(underlying of black money fell, flow of unaccounted
activity may or as some holders came income

15
may not be into the tax net income
illicit)

Private sector
wealth declined, since Wealth could fall
some high further, if real estate
Private Wealth
denomination notes prices continue to
were not returned and decline
real estate prices fell

Government/RBI's
wealth will increase
Public Sector
No effect. when unreturned
Wealth
cash is extinguished,
reducing liabilities

Digital transactions
amongst new users Some return to
(RuPay/ AEPS) cash as supply
Formalization/ increased sharply; normalises, but the
existing users now-launched
digitilisation
transactions increased digital revolution
in line with historical will continue
trend

Prices could fall

further as investing
undeclared income
Prices declined, as in real estate
wealth fell while cash becomes more
Real estate
shortages impeded difficult; but tax
transactions component could
rise, especially if
GST imposed on
real estate

Job losses, decline Should gradually

in farm incomes, stabilize as the
Broader
social disruption,
economy economy is
16
 especially in cash- remonetized
intensive sectors

Growth slowed, as
demonetisation
reduced demand
Could be
(cash, private
beneficial in the long
wealth), supply
GDP run if formalization
(reduced liquidity and
increases and
working capital, and
corruption falls
disrupted supply
chains), and increased
uncertainty

Cash-intensive
sectors (agriculture,
real estate, jewellery)
were affected more.

Recorded GDP
will understate impact
on informal sector
because informal
manufacturing is
estimated using
formal sector
Informal output
indicators (Index of
could decline but
Industrial
recorded GDP
Production).
would increase as
But over time as the the economy
economy becomes becomes more
more formalized the formalized
underestimation will
decline.

Recorded GDP
will also be
overstated because
banking sector value
added is based (inter
alia) on deposits
which have surged

17
 temporarily

Income taxes rose Indirect and

because of increased corporate taxes
disclosure could decline, to the
extent growth slows
Payments to local
bodies and discoms Over long run,
Tax collection increased because
taxes should
demonetised notes increase as
remained legal tender formalization
for tax expands and
payments/clearances compliance
of arrears improves

Uncertainty Credibility will

increased, as firms
be strengthened if
and households were
demonetisation is
unsure of the
accompanied by
economic impact and complementary
Uncertainty/
implications for future measures. Early and
Credibility policy full remonetisation
Investment essential. Tax
decisions and durable arbitrariness and
goods purchases harassment could
postponed attenuate credibility

******

DSM/SNC/KP

18
Good fiscal performance by States should be
incentivized to keep the overall fiscal performance on
track: Economic Survey ...
The Economic Survey 2016-17 presented in the Parliament today has highlighted the need for fiscal prudence both by the
Centre as well as the States in order to maintain overall fiscal health of the economy. The Economic Survey states that the
Centres Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, was mirrored by Fiscal Responsibility Legislations
(FRL) adopted in the States.

As per the Economic Survey, there has been an improvement in the financial position of the States over the last few years.
The average revenue deficit has been eliminated, while the average fiscal deficit was curbed to less than 3 percent of GSDP.
The average debt to GSDP ratio has also fallen.

However, just because fiscal progress followed the introduction of the FRL, it doesnt mean that the progress can be
attributed entirely to FRLs. The following points are important with respect to the improvement in fiscal variables:

I.

The deficit reduction owes much to favorable exogenous factors (see Figure 1):

An acceleration of nominal GDP growth (of 6 percentage points on average after 2005) helped boost States revenues by
about 1 percent of GSDP;

Increased transfers from the centre of about 1 percent of GSDP both because of the 13th Finance Commission
recommendations and the surge in central government revenues;

Reduced interest payments of about 0.9 percent of GSDP on account of the debt restructuring package offered by the
Centre; and

Reduced need for spending by the Statesestimated at about 1.2 percent of GDP--as the Centre took on a number of
major social sector expenditures under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).

19
Figure 1: Decomposition of Reduction in Fiscal, Primary and Revenue Deficit before and after States FRL

I.

Desisting from splurging rather than belt-tightening was probably the real contribution of the States. Despite the revenue
surge, non interest revenue expenditure rose by only 0.4 percent of GSDP.

II.

Off-budget expenditures fell, as measured by the flow of explicit guarantees and loans to public utilities fell.

III.

There was a sharp drop in the magnitude of forecast errors suggesting an improvement in the process of budget formation.
The shortfalls between budgeted and actual own tax revenue went from an average of 5.9 percent of actuals (optimistic
forecasts) before the FRL to -0.6 percent of actuals after.

IV.

All of these positive indicators show signs of decay in later years; fiscal deficits for example are close the limit of 3 percent
on average 10 years after the FRL (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Average Fiscal Deficit of States in Years Relative to Adoption of FRL (as percent of GSDP)

20
 Economic Survey 2016-17 elaborates that as the fiscal challenges mount for the states because of the Pay Commission
recommendations, and mounting payments from the UDAY bonds, there is a need to review how fiscal performance can be
kept on track. Greater reliance will need to be placed on incentivizing good fiscal performance, not least because states are
gradually repaying their obligations to the Centre, removing its ability to impose a hard budget constraint on them says the
Economic Survey. Above all, however, incentivizing good performance by the States will require the Centre to be an
exemplar of sound fiscal management itself.

*****

DSM/UM/NB/SSY/ES/UD

21
Economic Survey 2016-17 suggests setting up of a
centralised Public Sector Asset Rehabilition Agency
The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament today. The
Survey shows that our country

has been trying to solve its Twin Balance Sheet(TBS) problem overleveraged companies and bad-loan-encumbered
banks, a legacy of the boom years around the Global Financial Crisis. So far, there has been limited success. The problem
has consequently continued to fester: Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of the banking system (and especially public sector
banks) keep increasing, while credit and investment keep falling. Now it is time to consider a different approach a
centralised Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency (PARA) that could take charge of the largest, most difficult cases, and
make politically tough decisions to reduce debt.

As per the Survey,

gross NPAs has climbed to almost 12 per cent of gross advances for public sector banks at end-September 2016. At this
level,

Indias NPA ratio is higher than any other major emerging market, with the exception of Russia. The consequent squeeze
of banks has led them to slow

credit growth to crucial sectors-especially to industry and medium and small scale enterprises (MSMEs)-to levels unseen
over the past two decades. As this has occurred, growth in private and overall investment has turned negative . A decisive
resolution is urgently needed before the TBS problem becomes a serious drag on growth.

The Survey reaches to the conclusion that a PARA may be necessary because

Public discussion of the bad loan problem has focused on bank capital. But far more problematic is finding a way to
resolve the bad debts in the first place.

Some debt repayment problems have been caused by diversion of funds. But the vast majority has been caused by
unexpected changes in the economic environment after the Global Financial Crisis, which caused timetables, exchange rates,
and growth rate assumptions to go seriously wrong.

22
 This concentration creates a challenge since large cases are difficult to resolve, but also an opportunity since TBS could
be overcome by solving a relatively small number of cases.

Restoring them to financial health will require large write-downs.

Among other issues, they face severe coordination problems, since large debtors have many creditors, with different
interests. And they find it hard financially and politicallyto grant them sizeable debt reductions, or to take them over and
sell them.

It increases the costs to the government since bad debts of the state banks keep rising, and increases the costs to the
economy, by hindering credit, investment, and therefore growth.

Since, private run Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) have not been successful either in resolving bad debts,
though international experience (especially that of East Asian economies) shows that a professionally run central agency
with the government backing could overcome the coordination and political issues that have impeded progress over the past
eight years.

*****

DSM/UM/ST/RS

23
Economic Survey: Universal Basic Income (UBI)
Scheme an alternative to plethora of State subsidies
for poverty alleviation;
Economic Survey: Universal Basic Income (UBI) Scheme an alternative to plethora of State subsidies for poverty
alleviation;
JAM and Center State cost sharing prerequisite for a successful UBI

The Economic Survey 2016-17 tabled in Parliament today by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has advocated
the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as an alternative to the various social welfare schemes in an effort to reduce
poverty. The survey juxtaposes the benefits and costs of the UBI scheme in the context of the philosophy of the Father of
the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The Survey states that the Mahatma as astute political observer, would have anxieties about
UBI as being just another add-on Government programme, but on balance, he may have given the go-ahead to the UBI.

The Survey says the UBI, based on the principles of universality, unconditionality and agency, is a conceptually appealing
idea but with a number of implementation challenges lying ahead especially the risk that it would become an add-on to,
rather than a replacement of, current anti-poverty and social programmes, which would make it fiscally unaffordable.

Based on a survey on misallocation of resources for the six largest Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Sub-Schemes
(except PDS and fertilizer subsidy) across districts, the Economic Survey points out that the districts where the needs are
greatest are precisely the ones where State capacity is the weakest. This suggests that a more efficient way to help the poor
would be to provide them resources directly, through a UBI.

Exploring the principles and prerequisites for successful implementation of UBI, the Survey points out that the two
prerequisites for a successful UBI are: (a) functional JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhar and Mobile) system as it ensures that the cash
transfer goes directly into the account of a beneficiary and (b) Centre-State negotiations on cost sharing for the programme.

The Survey says that a UBI that reduces poverty to 0.5 percent would cost between 4-5 percent of GDP, assuming that
those in the top 25 percent income bracket do not participate. On the other hand, the existing middle class subsidies and
food, petroleum and fertilizer subsidies cost about 3 percent of GDP.

The Survey concludes that the UBI is a powerful idea whose time even if not ripe for implementation, is ripe for serious
discussion.

*****
DSM/ES/PK/SK

24
Real per capita GSDP between 1983 and 2014, shows
across-the-board improvement: Economic Survey
2016-17
Real per capita GSDP between 1983 and 2014, shows across-the-board improvement: Economic Survey 2016-17
Improved health indicators in life expectancy
Striking over performance of Indian States in fertility decline
Shri Arun Jaitley presents the Economic Survey 2016-17

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament today. The
Economic Survey states that while economic performance has been remarkable in the aggregate, Indias success as a
federation depends on the progress of each of its individual states. What is a reasonable standard for assessing how well the
states are doing? One intuitive metric is to see how well individual states have done over time on two sets of indicators:
economic indicators, such as income and consumption, and health/demographic indicators such as infant mortality rate, life
expectancy, and total fertility rate. Our analysis of these indicators begins in the 1980s, when the structural break from the
previous era of the Hindu Growth Rate occurred.

The Economic Survey states that seeing only the shift in the levels of these indicators does not give us the full picture
because there is no benchmark for relative assessment. Here, economic theory provides us a useful metric: convergence (or
unconditional convergence). Convergence means that a state that starts off at low performance levels on an outcome of
importance, say the level of income or consumption, should grow relatively faster over time, improving its performance so
that it catches up with states which had better starting points.

The Economic Survey mentions that when studying real per capita GSDP over time between 1983 and 2014 ,there has
been a clear increase in levels indicating an across-the-board improvement. For example, between 1984 and 2014, the
poorest state (Tripura, with a per capita income of INR 11,537 in 1984 to INR 64,712 in 2014) increased its per capita
GDP 5.6 fold; the median state (Himachal Pradesh) increased its income level 4.3 fold.

The Economic Survey mentions that, when convergence in real per capita GDP is studied for the latest decade (2004-
2014), it is found that while incomes converge for provinces in China and for countries in the world, in India, they diverge.
When convergence in real per capita consumption for states in India is studied, the same trend of divergence is observed.
Despite growing rapidly on average, there is sign of growing regional inequality among the Indian states. This is puzzling
because the underlying forces in favor of equalization within Indianamely strong and rising movements of goods and
peopleare strongly evident. This is not found to be the case in the previous decade (1994-2004), when we see that
incomes in China, India and the world were all diverging/weakly converging.

The Economic Survey elaborates that to observe convergence, we should see a downward sloping line this means that
the countries/provinces/states that start off poorer subsequently grew faster, closing the gap with more developed
countries/states. The opposite is happening in India.

The Economic Survey states that a similar trend of consumption divergence is observed within India for the three time
periods of 1983-1993, 1993-2004 and 2004-2011. All this suggests that over time, regional income/consumption inequality
in India is not narrowing despite such gaps narrowing across countries in the world and within China. The Indian paradox is
doubly confounding: thicker international borders that are more impervious to the equalizing flows of factors if production
lead to convergence but the supposedly porous borders within India perpetuate spatial inequality.

The Economic Survey further states that one possible hypothesis for seeing a regional dispersion in income and
consumption is that there might be governance traps that impede the catch-up process. And if there are such traps, labor

25
and capital mobility might even aggravate underlying inequalities. But why such traps persist if competitive federalism is
forcing change upon the lagging states remains an open question.

The Economic Survey remarks that in contrast, on health, there is strong evidence of convergence amongst the states in
the 2000s. But here it is the international contrast that is striking. With regards to life expectancy, the Indian states are close
to where they should be given their level of income. But that is not true of IMR (Infant Mortality Rate), suggesting that the
mother and child (discussed also in last years Survey) bear the brunt of weaker delivery of health services.

The Economic Survey states that but what really stands out in the international comparison is fertility (measured using
Total Fertility Rate), where we find that for their levels of development, the Indian states have much lower levels of fertility
than countries internationally. These unusually large declines in fertility have strongand potentially positiveimplications for
Indias demographic dividend going forward.

*****
DSM/SS/AM/BA

26
In creating one Economic India, Technology,
Economics and Politics are Surging Ahead
In creating one Economic India, Technology, Economics and Politics are Surging Ahead
Survey suggests that it is Time for the Laws to catch up and facilitate this Internal Integration

Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley today presented the Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament today. The Survey
suggest that on the question of creating one economic India, technology, economics and politics have been surging ahead.
Perhaps, it is time for the laws to catch up to further facilitate this surging internal integration.

It finds high levels of internal trade between states: Indias internal trade-GDP ratio at about 54 percent is comparable to
that in other large countries. The extent to which the Constitutional provisions facilitate the creation of one economic India is
discussed in a final section.

The first-ever estimates for inter-state trade flows indicate that cross-border exchanges between firms amount to at least
54 per cent of GDP, implying that domestic trade is significant. Both figures compare favourably with other jurisdictions: de
facto at least, India seems well integrated internally. A more technical analysis confirms this, finding that trade costs reduce
trade by roughly the same extent in India as in other countries.

The Survey shows that :-

Smaller states Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Goa trade more; the net exporters are the manufacturing
powerhouses of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra

Otherwise agricultural Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are also trading powerhouses because Gurugram and NOIDA,
respectively, have become part of the great Delhi urban agglomeration.

Intra-firm trade across States is surprisingly large (about 68 per cent of inter-firm inter-state trade), and is affected by
trade costs to a greater extent than inter-firm trade.

However, there is a potential dampener on the finding that trade in goods is high within India. The high level may be a
consequence of the current system of indirect taxes which in some important cases perversely favours inter-state trade over
intra-state trade. If true, the GST by ironing out these oddities will normalise inter-state trade in the country. This may reduce
trade in some cases, and yet have a positive impact on tax revenue because of improvements in compliance, competitive
enhancements and other channels.

It may be noted the Indian Constitution provides the Centre and States considerable freedom to restrict trade and
commerce; the needs of creating one economic India were actually subordinated to the imperatives of preserving sovereignty
for the states. In practice, courts interpretation of these constitutional provisions have also been in favour of protecting the
sovereignty of states over economic integration.

*****
DSM/UM/ST/RS

27
Property Tax can be tapped to generate Additional
Revenue at City Level
The Economic Survey 2016-17, presented today in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley, stated
that Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), having primary responsibility for the development and service provisioning of cities, face
major and inextricably linked problems: large infrastructure deficits, inadequate finances, and poor governance capacities.
Every Indian city faces serious challenges related to water and power supply, waste management, public transport,
education, healthcare, safety, and pollution.

The analysis carried out for the Survey has found that greater service delivery is correlated with more resources, own
revenue, staffing and capital spending per capita (Figure 1a,1b) Analysis indicates no clear relationship between service
delivery and governance.

Figure 1a: Urban Capacities, Resources & Services Figure 1b: Own Revenue & Services

Currently, tax revenues are not constrained by inadequate taxation powers of ULBs. One promising source is property
tax. The study done for the Survey shows that property tax potential is large and can be tapped to generate additional
revenue at city level.

Satellite imagery can be a useful tool for improving urban governance by facilitating better property tax compliance. The
study has shown that Bengaluru and Jaipur are currently collecting no more than 5-20 per cent of their respective potentials
for property tax (Figure 2).

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 Competition between States is becoming a powerful dynamic of change and progress, that dynamic must extend to
competition between States and Cities and between cities. Cities that are entrusted with responsibilities, empowered with
resources, and encumbered by accountability can become effective vehicles for competitive federalism and, indeed,
competitive sub-federalism to be unleashed.

******

DSM/UM / BCK/RS

29
Apparel and Leather industry key to generation of
formal and productive jobs: Economic Survey 2016-17
Apparel and Leather industry key to generation of formal and productive jobs: Economic Survey 2016-17
Economic Survey recommends reforms in labour and tax policies to make the Apparel and Leather sector globally
competitive

Apparel and Leather & Footwear sectors are eminently suitable for generating jobs that are formal and productive,
providing bang-for-buck in terms of jobs created relative to investment and generating exports and growth. This was stated
in the Economic Survey 2016-17 presented by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in the Parliament today. The Survey
adds that these sectors provide immense opportunities for creation of jobs for the weaker sections, especially for women,
and can become vehicles for broader social transformation in the country.

The Survey highlights the opportunity for India in this sector in global context by saying that India has an opportunity to
push exports since rising wage levels in China has resulted in China stabilizing or losing market share in these products. India
is well positioned to take advantage of Chinas deteriorating competitiveness due to lower wage costs in most Indian states,
it adds.

The Survey also lists a number of challenges faced by these sectors. It says that the space vacated by China is fast being
taken over by Bangladesh and Vietnam in case of apparels and Vietnam and Indonesia in case of leather and footwear, while
Indian companies struggle in face of a set of common challenges related to logistics, labour regulations, tax & tariff policy
and disadvantages emanating from the international trading environment compared to competitor countries.

On logistics, the Survey says that costs and time involved in getting goods from factory to destinations are greater in India
than those for other countries. On labour costs, Indias source of comparative advantage in this sector, also seem not to
work in its favour due to problems like regulations on minimum overtime pay, onerous mandatory contributions that become
de facto taxes for low-paid workers in small firms that result in a 45 per cent lower disposable salary, lack of flexibility in
part-time work and high minimum wages in some cases.

According to the Survey, in both apparel and footwear sectors, tax and tariff policies create distortions that impede India
gaining export competitiveness. India imposes a 10 percent tariff on man-made fibers vis- a-vis 6 percent on cotton fibres.
On the other hand, domestic taxes also favor cotton-based production rather than production based on man-made fibers,
and leather footwear rather than non leather footwear. The global demand for apparel is moving from cotton fibre products
to manmade fibre and similarly footwear of non leather, it adds. Indias competitors enjoy better market access by way of
zero or at least lower tariffs in the two major importing markets, namely, the United States of America (USA) and European
Community (EU), the Survey says.

Another problem faced by the leather sector highlighted by the Survey is that despite having a large cattle population,
Indias share of cattle leather exports is low and declining due to limited availability of cattle for slaughter in India.

The Survey suggests several measures to make these sectors globally competitive and unlock its potential for creating new
jobs and generating growth. It recommends that there is a need to undertake rationalization of domestic policies which are
inconsistent with global demand patterns.

Several measures have been initiated that form part of the package approved by the Government for textiles and apparels
in June 2016, the Survey notes. Accordingly, textile and apparel firms will be provided a subsidy for increasing employment,
but these need to be complemented by further actions such as the following:

30
 An FTA with EU and UK in the case of apparel will offset an existing disadvantage by Indias competitors- Bangladesh,
Vietnam and Ethiopia. In the case of leather and footwear, the FTA might give India an advantage relative to competitors. In
both cases, the incremental impact would be positive.

The introduction of the GST offers an excellent opportunity to rationalize domestic indirect taxes so that they do not
discriminate in the case of apparels against the production of clothing that uses man-made fibers; and in the case of footwear
against the production of non-leather based footwear.

Third, a number of labor law reforms would encourage employment creation in these two sectors.

*****
DSM/UM/AD/SS

31
Labour migration in India increasing at an
accelerating rate, reveals new study: Economic Survey
2016-17
New estimates of labour migration in India have revealed that inter-state labor mobility is significantly higher than previous
estimates. This was stated in the Economic Survey 2016-17 presented by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in the
Parliament today. The study based on the analyses of new data sources and new methodologies also shows that the
migration is accelerating and was particularly pronounced for females. The data sources used for the study are the 2011
Census and railway passenger traffic flows of the Ministry of Railways and new methodologies including the Cohort-based
Migration Metric (CMM) .

The new Cohort-based Migration Metric(CMM) shows that inter-state labor mobility averaged 5-6.5 million people
between 2001 and 2011, yielding an inter-state migrant population of about 60 million and an inter-district migration as high
as 80 million. The first-ever estimates of internal work-related migration using railways data for the period 2011-2016
indicate an annual average flow of close to 9 million migrant people between the states. Both these estimates are significantly
greater than the annual average flow of about 4 million suggested by successive Censuses and higher than previously
estimated by any study.

Figure 1. Estimates of annual migrant flows based on railway traffic data

The second finding from this new study is that migration for work and education is accelerating. In the period 2001-2011
the rate of growth of labour migrants nearly doubled relative to the previous decade, rising to 4.5 per cent per annum.
Interestingly, the acceleration of migration was particularly pronounced for females and increased at nearly twice the rate of
male migration in the 2000s. There is also a doubling of the stock of inter-state out migrants to nearly 12 million in the 20-
29year old cohort alone. One plausible hypothesis for this acceleration in migration is that the rewards (in the form of
prospective income and employment opportunities) have become greater than the costs and risks that migration entails.
Higher growth and a multitude of economic opportunities could therefore have been the catalyst for such an acceleration of
migration.

Third, and a potentially exciting finding, for which there is tentative but no conclusive evidence, is that while political
borders impede the flow of people, language does not seem to be a demonstrable barrier to the flow of people. For

32
example, a gravity model indicates that political borders depress the flows of people, reflected in the fact that migrant people
flows within states are 4 times than migrant people flows across states.

However, not sharing Hindi as a common language appears not to create comparable frictions to the movement of goods
and people across states.

Fourth, the patterns of flows of migrants found in this study are broadly consistent with what is expected - less affluent
states see more out migration migrating out while the most affluent states are the largest recipients of migrants. Figure 2
shows the strong positive relationship between the CMM scores and per capita incomes at the state level. Relatively poorer
states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have high net out-migration. Seven states take positive CMM values reflecting net in-
migration: Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Fifth, the costs of moving for migrants are
about twice as much as they are for goods another confirmation of popular conception.

Figure 2. Cohort-based Migration Metric vs. Real Incomes across States

Policy actions to sustain and maximize the benefits of migration include: ensuring portability of food security benefits,
providing healthcare and a basic social security framework for migrants potentially through an inter-state self-registration
process. While there do currently exist multiple schemes that have to do with migrant welfare, they are implemented at the
state level, and hence require greater inter-state coordination.

******

DSM/NT/AD/RK

33
Redistributive Resource Transfers (RRT) should be
significantly linked to fiscal and governance efforts on
the part of the...
The Economic Survey 2016-17, which was presented today in parliament by the Finance Minister Shri.Arun Jaitly,
examines whether the effects associated with the aid curse and the natural resources curse internationally are discernible
in the context of the Indian States. It calculates Redistributive Resource Transfers (RRT) from the Centre (between 1994
and 2015) and value of natural resources for Indian States (over 1980 and 2014) and correlates these with several
economic outcomes and an index of governance

Redistributive Resource Transfer or

RRT to a state (from the Centre) is defined as gross devolution to the state adjusted for the respective states share in
aggregate Gross Domestic Product(GDP). The top 10 recipients are: Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Assam.

Figure 1 shows the ranking of States, in 2015, in the descending order of RRT received in per capita terms and also
per-capita gross devolution. The yellow and green dotted lines in figure 1 show the all-India rural and urban annualised per-
capita poverty lines for 2015 respectively. Annual per capita RRT flows for all north-eastern states (except Assam) and
Jammu & Kashmir have exceeded the annual per-capita consumption expenditure that defines the all-India poverty lines,
especially the rural line.

The Economic Survey 2016-17 points out that there is no evidence of a positive relationship between these transfers and
various economic outcomes, including per capita consumption, GSDP growth, development of manufacturing, own tax
revenue effort, and institutional quality.

Instead, there is a suggestive evidence of a negative relationship. For example, larger RRT flows seem to negatively affect
fiscal effort (defined as the share of own tax revenue to GSDP). These trends are robust to alternative definitions of RRT.

34
 Also, whether mineral rich states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Gujarat ,are doing well on the
metrics of economic outcomes and governance is considered in the context of redistributive transfers. However, this does
not reveal conclusive results and there is no evidence of a negative relationship between fiscal effort and reliance on revenue
from natural resources over the period 2001-14.

Thus, the existence of a RRT curse and the lack thereof of a natural resource curse in the context of Indian States
implies that both the Centre and States need to act to mitigate the effects of the former and guard against the emergence, in
future, of the latter. In this context, the question is whether RRT, in future, can be linked more saliently to fiscal and
governance efforts on the part of the States.

The Economic Survey 2016-2017, also suggests providing a part of the RRTs or to redistribute the gains from resource
use as a Universal Basic Income (UBI) directly to households in relevant states which receive large RRT flows and are
more reliant on natural resource revenues.

Finally, recognizing and responding creatively to possible pathologies created by large bounties-either in the form of
redistributive resources or natural resources, will be important to avoid making the errors of history.

**********

DSM/KSP/AD/AMP/SSY

35
Economic Survey advocates reforms to unleash
economic dynamism and social justice
Economic Survey advocates reforms to unleash economic dynamism and social justice

India needs an evolution in the underlying economic vision across the political spectrum and further reforms are not just a
matter of overcoming vested interests that obstruct them. This was stated in the Economic Survey 2016-17 presented in the
Parliament today by the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley.

The Survey lists the some of the challenges that might impede Indias progress. These challenges are classified by the
Survey as follows: ambivalence about property rights and the private sector, deficiencies in State capacity, especially in
delivering essential services and inefficient redistribution.

The Survey highlights difficulties in privatizing public enterprises, even for firms where economists have made strong
arguments that they belong in the private sector. In this context, the Survey points towards the need to further privatize the
Civil Aviation, Banking and Fertilizer sectors.

The Survey points out that the capacity of the State in delivering essential services such as health and education is weak
due to low capacity, with high levels of corruption, clientelism, rules and red tape. At the level of the states, competitive
populism is more in evidence than competitive service delivery, the Survey adds. Constraints to policy making due to strict
adherence to rules and abundant caution in bureaucratic decision-making favours status quo, the Survey cautions.

According to the Survey, redistribution by the government is far from efficient in targeting the poor. This is intrinsic to
current programs because spending is likely to be greatest in states with better institutions and which will therefore have
fewer poor.

The Survey notes that over the past two years, the government has made considerable progress toward reducing
subsidies, especially related to petroleum products. Technology has been the main instrument for addressing the leakage
problem and the pilots for direct benefit transfer in fertilizer represent a very important new direction in this regard, the
Survey adds.

Noting that India has come a long way in terms of economic performance and reforms, Economic Survey 2016-17
says that there is still a journey ahead to achieve dynamism and social justice. Completing this journey will require broader
societal shifts in the underlying vision, the Survey adds.

*****
DSM/UM/AD/SS

36
Fiscal activism embraced by advanced economies not
relevant for India: Economic Survey 2016-17
Fiscal activism embraced by advanced economies not relevant for India: Economic Survey 2016-17
Indias economic experience underscores fundamental validity of fiscal policy principles in FRBM Act 2003: Economic
Survey 2016-17

Indias economic experience shows that the fiscal activism embraced by advanced economies- giving a greater role to
counter-cyclical policies and attaching less weight to curbing debt- is not relevant for India. This observation was made in
the Economic Survey 2016-17 presented by the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley in the Parliament today. The Economic
Survey has also stated that Indias fiscal experience has underscored the fundamental validity of the fiscal policy principles
enshrined in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM) Act 2003.

Since the 2008-09 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), internationally fiscal policy has seen a paradigm shift from the emphasis
on debts to deficits, arguing for greater activism in flows (deficits) and minimizing concerns about sustainability of the stocks
(debt). But Indias experience has reaffirmed the need for rules to contain fiscal deficits, because of the proclivity to spend
during booms and undertake stimulus during downturns. Indias experience has also highlighted the danger of relying on
rapid growth rather than steady and gradual fiscal and primary balance adjustment to do the heavy lifting on debt
reduction. In, short it has underscored the fundamental validity of the fiscal policy principles set out in the FRBM.

Even as the basic tenets of the FRBM remain valid, the operational framework designed in 2003 will need to be modified
for the fiscal policy direction of India of today, and even more importantly the India of tomorrow. This setting out a new
vision through an FRBM for the 21st century will be the task of the FRBM Review Committee.

*****
DSM/NT

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