New Delhi:

The Economic Survey, a pre-budget document detailing the state of the economy over the last fiscal year, will be presented in Parliament at 12 p.m. on Friday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The presentation comes a day before the much-anticipated arrival of the Union Budget 2025-26.

The survey will be tabled in Lok Sabha at 12 pm and in Rajya Sabha at 2 pm.

The Economic Survey is prepared under the supervision of the Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran and includes insights into the economy prepared by the economic division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.

The document not only details the current state of the economy but also provides an outlook for the upcoming fiscal year. It can also be an indicator of the tone and texture of the Union Budget.

The presentation of the Economic Survey will kickstart the Budget Session of Parliament, which concludes on April 4. Parliament will have an inter-session break from February 14 and will resume on March 10.

The theme of the Economic Survey also holds significance. In 2024, the theme was economic resilience. The theme sets the tone for the policies which are proposed in the Union Budget as well.

Before the budget is presented, conventionally a Cabinet meeting headed by the Prime Minister is also held, where Ministers are briefed about the Budget and Cabinet approval is taken.

Ahead of the Union Budget presentation, President Droupadi Murmu will also address a joint seating of Parliament on Friday.

The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.

President Murmu will address the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha at 11 a.m. on Friday.

After the President’s address, Finance Minister Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha separately.

Finance Minister Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.

The Budget Session will be held from January 31 to April 4 in two phases. The first part of the Session will end on February 13 and the second phase will begin on March 10.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran speaks during the India Exim Bank International Economic Research Annual Citation 2023 Presentation Ceremony, in New Delhi on Monday, January 20, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Even a good government policy requiring timely payments to the key MSME sector faces resistance from large business entities, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V. Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday (January 20, 2025).

Speaking at an event organised by India Exim Bank of India, he said the government came up with a very thoughtful behavioural nudge to alleviate the working capital issue of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“The amended law gives enough leeway to make the payment within a given financial year and claim the deduction, but yet, even for this kind of a small nudge, there is resistance from the large corporate entities in this country, and the association that represents them are asking for doing away with 45-day payment ceiling for MSMEs,” Mr. Nageswaran said.

“Look at some of the political economy and behavioural resistance that continues to prevail in this country, where large enterprises still look at micro and small enterprises as sources of working capital for them, rather than them being sources of working capital for micro and small enterprises,” he said.

According to Section 43B (h) of the Income Tax Act, introduced through Finance Act 2023, if a larger company does not pay an MSME on time – within 45 days in case of written agreements – it cannot deduct that expense from its taxable income, leading to potentially higher taxes.

Mr. Nageswaran also spoke on the importance of agriculture, saying it is the sector of the future.

He further said that manufacturing and services are going to face global headwinds.

“Manufacturing will face issues because of the dominance of one large country, while the services sector faces technological developments and international trade-related resistance,” he said.

He also said the Economic Survey may dwell upon land use by corporates.

The CEA noted that land is already a very scarce resource in India and is subject to so many regulations.

“Enterprises do not get to use the full land that is available to them for productive purposes,” he added.