India requires “pro-business” policies to fulfil its aspiration to become a $5 trillion economy, the Economic Survey 2019-20 said on Friday. The survey was tabled in Parliament by Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“India’s aspiration to become a $5 trillion economy depends critically on promoting pro-business policies that provide equal opportunities for new entrants,” the survey said.

The government has set a target of expanding the Indian economy to $ 5 trillion in five years. This is considered a difficult task given the GDP growth slowing 4.5 per cent in the second quarter of FY20.

Chief Economic Advisor K.V. Subramanian, however, said the target remained intact and India would reach the planned $5 trillion mark by 2025.

“No change in the deadline (for achieving the 5 trillion dollar economy)”, he said at a press conference after the Economic Survey 2019-20 was presented in Parliament.

According to the CEA, there is a slowdown in investment, demand and consumption as well.

The previous Economic Survey had called for bright prospects for economic growth making its theme on enabling a “shifting of gears”, “to achieve the objective of becoming $5 trillion economy by 2024-25, as laid down by the Prime Minister”.

On the contrary, the current Economic Survey has put current fiscal year 2019-20’s growth rate at 5 per cent (from the earlier projected 7 per cent) while estimating economic growth at 6-6.5 per cent in the fiscal year starting April 1 (2020-21). The survey had projected 7 per cent GDP growth for the current fiscal in the July Budget.

Indo-Asian News Service