Economic Survey: Huge gap between expectation and reality, says Amit Mitra

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Amit Mitra, Principal Adviser to the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Department of Finance, said on Tuesday that there is a huge gap between expectations and performance in terms of growth expectations as shown in the economic survey.

According to the survey, India’s GDP growth rate in the fiscal year is expected to be 23 7% (in real terms). The 2022-23 budget estimate projects a GDP growth rate of 9.2 percent (in real terms). “There is a huge gap between expectations and performance,” he said, responding to the economic study released on Tuesday.

Unemployment rate

On the employment front, the unemployment rate in 2020-2021 is 4.2 percent and the unemployment rate (December 2022) is 8.3 percent (source: CMIE), the highest level in 16 months. There is a significant negative impact on the general public due to the high rates of unemployment.

The country’s trade deficit doubled between 2021 and 2022 (the period from April to November). According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, the trade deficit was at ₹8.56 crore during April-November 2021 and at ₹15.53 crore during April-November 2022.

“The Ministry of Finance is publicly appealing to the sector to invest, which is an indication that private investment is not coming in the way the government expects,” he said.