Highlights

According to the Economic Survey 2009-10, tabled in Parliament on February 25, 2010 by the Union Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, the economy is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2009-10. The expected growth comes on the back of the growth momentum witnessed in Q2 2009-10 estimates, when the economy recorded a GDP growth of 7.9 per cent as against 7.5 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2008-09. The industrial and the service sectors are growing at 8.2 and 8.7 per cent respectively, as per the advance estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2009-10, released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

The Economic Survey estimates:

• Growth rate of GDP at factor cost expected to be 7.2 per cent.
• Growth in the manufacturing sector has more than doubled from 3.2 per cent in 2008-09 to 8.9 per cent in 2009-10.
• Growth of private investment demand picked up in 2009-10.
• Savings rate as a percentage of GDP in 2008-09 stood at 32.5 per cent.
• Growth rate of capital formation as a percentage of GDP in 2008-09 stood at 34.9 per cent.
• Foreign Exchange Reserves in 2009-10 as of December 31, 2009 stood at US$ 283.5 billion.
• Financing, insurance, real estate and business services have retained their growth momentum at around 10 per cent in 2009-10.

The main highlights of the survey are:

• The recovery in GDP growth for 2009-10, as indicated in the advance estimates, is broad based. Seven out of eight sectors/sub-sectors show a growth rate of 6.5 per cent or higher. Sectors including mining and quarrying; manufacturing; and electricity, gas and water supply have significantly improved their growth rates at over 8 per cent in comparison with 2008-09. The construction sector and trade, hotels, transport and communication have also improved their growth rates over the preceding year.
• Strong growth in automobiles, rubber and plastic products, wool and silk textiles, wood products, chemicals and miscellaneous manufacturing; modest growth in nonmetallic mineral products.
• The opening of the telecom sector led to rapid growth in subscriber base. From only 54.6 million telephone subscribers in 2003, the number increased to 429.7 million at the end of March 2009 and further to 562 million as of October 31, 2009 showing an addition of 96 million subscribers during the period from March to December 2009.
• There has been improvement in the balance of payments (BoP) situation during H1 of 2009-10 over H1 of 2008-09, reflected in higher net capital inflows and lower trade deficit.
• Net capital flows to India at US$ 29.6 billion in April-September 2009 remained higher as compared to US$ 12 billion in April-September 2008.
• During fiscal 2009-10, foreign exchange reserves increased by US$ 31.5 billion from US$ 252 billion in end March 2009 to US$ 283.5 billion in end December 2009.
• Growth rate of gross fixed capital formation in 2009-10 has recovered, as per the revised National Accounts Statistics (NAS).
• Turnaround in merchandise export growth witnessed in November 2009, which has been sustained in December 2009.

For more details on the Economic Survey 2009–10, click here