CENTRAL THEME OF ECONOMIC SURVEY 2021-22 IS THE “AGILE APPROACH”

What is the news?

Union Minister for Finance has presented the Economic Survey 2021-22 in Parliament

About Economic Survey

The Economic Survey is an annual report card of the economy. The first Economic Survey was presented in the year 1950-51. From 1964, the practice to release the survey a day before the Union Budget began.

It is not mandatory for the government to present the survey and the recommendations presented in the survey are not binding on the government.

Who prepares the survey?

It is prepared by the Economics Division of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Finance Ministry under the overall guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA).

This year, the survey is being prepared by the Principal Economic Advisor and other officials in absence of the CEA. 

What is the theme of this year’s Economic Survey?

The central theme of this year’s Economic Survey is the “Agile approach”.

Another theme highlighted in the Economic Survey relates to art and science of policy-making under conditions of extreme uncertainty.

What is “Agile Approach” mentioned in the survey?

It is a framework for project and policy implementation that is considered highly efficient for getting work done. 

It was developed in 2001 and is based on 12 principles which include customer satisfaction, collaboration, adapting to change, feedback loops, breaking project silos, real-time monitoring of actual outcomes etc.

The survey adds that this agile framework was behind India’s informed response to the Covid-19 shock.

Other key features of this year’s Economic Survey

The Preface of the survey takes a bird’s eye view of the “great deal of evolution” of the Economic Surveys presented since the first Survey in 1950-51. 

The survey makes a shift from the two-volume format of recent years to a single volume plus a separate volume for statistical tables.

Moreover, Survey adds a new chapter that demonstrates the use of satellite and geo-spatial images to gauge various economic phenomena such as urbanization, infrastructure, environmental impact, farming practices and so on.

Source: This post is based on the articles:

 “CENTRAL THEME OF ECONOMIC SURVEY 2021-22 IS THE “AGILE APPROACH” published in PIB on 1st Feb 2022.

“Economic Survey 2021-22: India’s agile fiscal policy response’’ published in Business Standard on 1st Feb 2022