Economic Survey 2024: Industrial growth fuels India’s 8.2% economic expansion

| Updated: 22 July, 2024 6:02 pm IST

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2023-2024 in the Lok Sabha on Monday, highlighting the robust industrial growth that has propelled India’s economy to an impressive 8.2% growth rate in FY24.

This sets the stage for the Union Budget 2024, which is scheduled to be tabled on Tuesday. The survey reported a 9.5% growth rate in the industrial sector, with manufacturing and construction sectors nearing double-digit growth.

“Despite the pandemic and consequent impairment of manufacturing value chains, the manufacturing sector achieved an average annual growth rate of 5.2% in the last decade,” the survey noted. Major growth drivers included chemicals, wood products and furniture, transport equipment, pharmaceuticals, machinery, and equipment.

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Achievements in Key Sectors:

 

1. Steel: India transitioned from being an importer to a net exporter of finished steel, achieving its highest levels of production and consumption in FY24.
2. Coal: Coal production has surged, reducing import dependence significantly. In FY24, India produced 997.2 million tonnes of coal, imported 261 million tonnes, and consumed 1233.86 million tonnes.
3. Pharmaceuticals: Valued at USD 50 billion, India’s pharmaceutical market is the world’s third-largest by volume. The sector encompasses generic drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, bulk drugs, over-the-counter medications, vaccines, biologics, and biosimilars.
Textiles and Apparel: India, the world’s second-largest clothing manufacturer, saw a 1% increase in textile and apparel exports, including handicrafts, totalling ₹2.97 lakh crore in FY24.
4. Electronics: Since 2014, India’s electronics manufacturing sector has grown significantly, capturing an estimated 3.7% of the global market share in FY22. Domestic production rose to ₹8.22 lakh crore, and exports reached ₹1.9 lakh crore in FY23.

 

The survey emphasised improvements in the labour market, with the unemployment rate declining to 3.2% in 2022-23. Rising youth and female participation in the workforce presents an opportunity to tap the demographic and gender dividend. The net payroll additions under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) more than doubled in the past five years, signalling healthy growth in formal employment.

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The government has implemented several measures to boost employment, foster self-employment, and promote worker welfare. These include:

– Ease of Doing Business: Initiatives to reduce compliance burdens and alleviate logistical and infrastructural bottlenecks.
– Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes: These schemes have attracted significant investments, boosting production, sales, exports, and job creation, particularly in the case of white goods.
– MSME Support: The Union Budget 2023-24 allocated ₹9,000 crore to the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). Since its inception, the scheme has approved 91.76 lakh guarantees amounting to ₹6.78 lakh crore.
– Innovation and Startups: Interventions such as the notification of Patent Rules 2024 and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) bill 2023 have fostered innovation and startup culture. The number of granted patents increased seventeen-fold from 5,978 in 2014-15 to 1,03,057 in 2023-24.

 

The survey also outlined challenges such as public perception issues, regulatory chokeholds, and a mismatch between demand and supply at sectoral and spatial levels. It recommended incentivizing R&D and innovation, improving workforce skills, and enhancing statistical data to better understand industrial production patterns.

The Economic Survey 2024 sets a hopeful tone for India’s economic future, with robust industrial growth, significant government initiatives, and a focus on skilling and employment poised to drive the country towards greater economic resilience and self-reliance.

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