India to grow 6.3-6.8% in FY26, wants focus on domestic levers

The Economic survey projected a growth rate of 6.3-6.8 per cent for 2025-26 on the back of a "strong external account, calibrated fiscal consolidation and stable private consumption", and said domestic growth levers will be more important than external ones in the coming years for the Indian economy.

Prescribing "deregulation and reforms at the grassroots level", it said for structural reforms to succeed, there should be reliance on internal engines focusing on a central element. 

Lack of finance from developed countries may lead to reworking climate target: Survey

The failure of developed countries to commit adequate money for climate finance during last year's COP29 in Azerbaijan's Baku might force India to temper the ambition of its climate targets for 2035, the Economic Survey said. Expressing disappointment over the outcome of discussions on climate finance in Baku, the survey said the promise of just $300 billion annually in climate finance flows by 2035, instead of the projected requirement of more than $ 1 trillion a year, severely undermined the objectives of the Paris Agreement. "It ($300 billion) is out of sync with the needs of the critical decade when action is required to keep the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement within reach. The decision (in Baku) demonstrates a significant misalignment with the Paris Agreement's mandate to demonstrate a 'progression beyond previous efforts' by developed countries," the survey said.

Citing health, survey suggests higher tax on ultra-processed foods

Taking note of the health impact of ultra-processed foods such as breakfast cereals, soft drinks, and chicken nuggets the Economic Survey suggested several measures, including higher taxation, to reduce their consumption. While noting that such "unhealthy packaged food items" were often advertised as "healthy products", the survey said the ultra-processed food segment grew at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7% between 2011 and 2021. The household consumption expenditure survey showed that rural India spent 9.6% of its food budget on ultra-processed foods and urban India 10.6%.\

Goa govt seeks 'visa on arrival' facility to attract foreign tourists

The goa government is planning to send a proposal to the Centre to consider allowing visa on arrival facilities for select countries to lure foreign tourists, The Indian Express has learnt. The state will also ask the Centre to consider introducing a "digital nomad visa" policy and to connect more flights to attract international tourists. Digital nomad visa allows foreign nationals to live and work remotely in a country for a certain period. The state government's proposal comes in the aftermath of the state facing flak after some posts on social media claimed that tourism is "down in the dumps". The posts triggered criticism of the state's tourism infrastructure, with many claiming that travellers are now increasingly ditching Goa for Thailand, Vietnam or Sri Lanka, which have eased visa norms.

Study: Tigers occupied 30% more area from 2006-18, shared space with 6 crore people

Tigers in India occupied 30 per cent more area between 2006 and 2018 and they shared space with about 6 crore people in 45% of tiger-occupied habitats, new research published in Science journal said.

The study, which focussed on evaluating trends in tiger occupancy in the context of socio-economic and political factors, said that people-free, as well as shared spaces, were necessary for sustaining the recovery of tigers in India. The researchers used tiger population estimation datasets from the four estimation cycles between 2006 to 2018 to evaluate tiger occupancy, socio-ecological characteristics of local extinctions, and colonisation and persistence of tigers in India.

BUSINESS NOT AS USUAL

With Rather Uncharacteristic frankness, the Economic Survey 2024-25 talks about the "trust deficit" among economic agents in the country, overcoming which could help pave the path for a Viksit Bharat.

The survey says, and rightly so, that "wiping out the trust deficit in the country is imperative and government agencies have to set the agenda in this regard". But, only a narrow interpretation of this statement would view government agencies as limited solely to the IT department, CBI and ED - it includes the entire state apparatus. Building trust may well be the key, but the question is whether this spirit finds reflection in the budget and the government's working.

We should deep seek 

Services exports are supposedly India's success story, where its growth rate is impressive and higher than the rest of the world. But India still accounts for only 4.6 per cent of global trade in services. India's merchandise exports are inching up, but still less than 2 per cent of global trade. In December 2024, the Press Information Bureau proudly announced that India's FDI journey had reached the remarkable milestone of $1 trillion since 2000. DeepSeek has spurred the search for homegrown Indian models, but the track record of being at the frontier of this competition is not encouraging. Great powers are not measured by improvement or cumulative numbers whose significance is vastly exaggerated. They are measured by the degree to which they are indispensable in a whole range of sectors services trade, manufacturing, technology and innovation, green energy transitions, nuclear energy, defence technology, research and development or finance. Of course, a country of India's size will always have some amazingly interesting success stories. But by the same measure, it is quite shocking how dispensable India is.

A NEW CLASSROOM

The results of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) offer a glimmer of hope. For the first time in years, foundational learning outcomes especially in Grade III -show positive trends across Indian states. This progress is no accident. It reflects a focused effort by the Indian government to prioritise quality education. An enhanced NIPUN 2.0 should be extended to at least 2030. This will allow interventions to take root and achieve deeper impact. It should expand focus to Grades III-V-bridging the gap between early foundational skills and higher-order learning is essential. NIPUN 2.0 should also focus on Early Childhood Education (ECE): Investments in preschool education can set children up for success before they even enter primary school.

A 1991 moment for 2025

Job growth in India has been misunderstood, primarily because it is part and parcel of a political-ideological package. And, also because it is easy to confuse most people almost all of the time with jargon and slogans like "what India is enduring is a K-shaped recovery". International organisations are involved in this mismatch of data with ideology. Just peruse the documents of three leading "influencers" - the World Bank, IMF and ILO. There has been high growth in employment as noted above. But with no increase in real wages, there is another important factor at work it is called the inflation tax. Since the income tax schedule is a progressive scale, it means there is an inflation tax. The same level of real income means an increase in nominal income. Tax outgo has tripled while incomes have doubled, and real incomes are the same. This is why the middle class is upset

India's workforce vulnerable to Al, need 'robust institutions' to upskill

Arguing that India's work-force in low-skill and low-value-added services remains vulnerable to artificial intelligence (Al), the Economic Survey 2024-25 called for the creation of "robust institutions," which could help transition workers to medium-and high-skilled jobs, where Al can augment their efforts rather than replace them. "Although the impact of Al on labour will be felt across the world, the problem is magnified for India, given its size and its relatively low per capita income," the Survey said. The Survey proposed the concept of "stewarding institutions," which would be "agile, cross cutting across sectors and up to date on the latest developments, so that they are equipped to identify both opportunities and threats.

Wages still below pre-pandemic level, while corporate profits soared to 15-year high in FY24

Real monthly wages for both male and female salaried and self-employed workers in 2023-24 were lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2017-18, the latest Economic Survey showed. The Survey also noted that while corporate profitability soared to a 15-year high in 2023-24, growth in wages has "lagged".

Among the salaried, real average monthly wage for male workers in 2023-24 was Rs 11,858, down by 6.4 per cent from Rs 12,665 in 2017-18. For female workers, real wages fell more sharply by 12.5 per cent to Rs 8,855 from Rs 10,116 in 2017-18. Among self-employed male workers, real wages dropped by 9 per cent to Rs 8,591 in 2023-24 from Rs 9,454 in 2017-18. For self-employed female workers, real wages plummeted by 32 per cent, from Rs 4,348 to Rs 2,950. The real wages, which are adjusted for inflation, have been calculated by dividing nominal wages by retail inflation, the Survey said.

FDA APPROVES NON-OPIOID PAINKILLER SUZETRIGINE: WHYTHIS IS SIGNIFICANT

The United States Food and Drug Administration approved a new type of non-opioid painkiller. Although it is currently quite expensive, costing $15.50 per pill, the medicine is not addictive, unlike commonly used opioid painkillers. Opioids are a class of drugs that "derive from, or mimic, natural substances found in the opium poppy plant", according to the website of the US-based Johns Hopkins Medicine. Some common opioids include oxycodone, morphine, codeine, heroin, and fentanyl. Prescription opioids are primarily used for pain relief. They do so by getting attached to opioid receptors in the brain cells to release signals that block the perception of pain, and boost the feelings of pleasure or euphoria. Every year, tens of thousands of Americans die from opioid use. Ther were 82,000 opioid-involved overdose deaths in 2022, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The US gets 30 times more opioid pain relief medication than it needs.

Delhi: a political history

Since Delhi's first legislative Assembly was constituted in 1952, the national capital has had only eight Assemblies and Chief Ministers. By 1919, the city had been broken from the erstwhile Punjab province (as was intended when the capital was being shifted), and brought under the direct rule of the Viceroy, through a Chief Commissioner. The young CM, however, soon clashed with the Chief Commissioner. Prakash eventually resigned on February 12, 1955. In an interview to the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (then the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library), Prakash said "[Chief Commissioner] A D Pandit... wanted to interfere in every matter... He did not like any elected representative...". Prakash also spoke about how his 1955 proposal for carving out a Maha Dilli - a state which would comprise Delhi and parts of western UP, Punjab, and Rajasthan - was not received well.

What the Survey says: key takeaways from govt's report on India's economy

The Economic Survey for 2024-25 was tabled by Finance Minister in Parliament. The Survey is a report of the state of the Indian economy in the financial year that is coming to a close. It is prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs in the Union Finance Ministry, under the guidance of the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA). "Global trade dynamics have changed significantly in recent years, shifting from globalisation to rising trade protectionism, accompanied by increased uncertainty," the Survey says. The second big challenge concerns the dominance of China as the world's manufacturing superpower - a third of all global production happens in China, and it alone manufactures more global output than the next 10 countries put together.