Women counting money at a garment sewing machine unit.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Observing that India is transitioning from women’s development to women-led development, the Chief Economic Advisor on July 22 said there has been a 218.8% increase in budgetary allocation for schemes for the welfare and empowerment of women even as it acknowledged that women in India face the “’motherhood penalty” with a drop in female labour force participation rate around childbearing years.

“The share of the Gender Budget in the total Union Budget has increased to 6.5% in Financial Year 2025, the highest since the introduction of Gender Budgeting Scheme in Financial Year 2006,” the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) said in the Economic Survey, which was tabled in Parliament.

Economic Survey 2023-24 highlights

This shows that India is shifting from women’s development to women-led development. He also underscored the government’s commitment towards ensuring employment opportunities for women in various fields.

The survey said that skilling schemes have put a dedicated emphasis on covering women, and the number of women trained under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) has increased from 42.7% in financial year 2016 to 52.3% in financial year 2024. Under the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) scheme, women constitute about 82% of the total beneficiaries and in institutes like ITIs and National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs), the participation of women has gone up from 9.8% in FY16 to 13.3% in FY24.

With rural India propelling the trend, the survey observed that the female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) rose to 37% in 2022-2023 from 23.3% in 2017-2018. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has facilitated the opening of 52.3 crore bank accounts, of which 55.6% account holders are women, as of May 2024.

Read the full document of Economic Survey 2023-24

Delving on the crucial aspect of care economy, the survey estimated that direct public investment equivalent to 2% of the GDP has the potential to generate 11 million jobs in the sector, nearly 70% of which will go to women.

It flagged international models of Australia, Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S. in this sector to get insights for India.

“The economic value of developing a care sector is two-fold — increasing female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) and promoting a promising sector for output and job creation. According to International Labour Organisation (2018), the care sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, and investments in the care services sector are estimated to generate 475 million jobs globally by 2030,” it said.

India saw 92 lakh foreign tourist arrivals in 2023, signifying a positive post-pandemic revival, the Economic Survey said.
| Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM

India saw 92 lakh foreign tourist arrivals in 2023, signifying a positive post-pandemic revival, the Chief Economic Advisor has said in the Economic Survey released on July 22.

The survey, which was tabled in Parliament, said India’s tourism industry showed positive signs of revival post-pandemic with an year-on-year increase of 43.5%. The hospitality industry has also met the needs of the increasing numbers of tourists successfully. “In 2023, the highest amount of new supply was created with the addition of 14,000 rooms, bringing the total inventory of chain-affiliated rooms to 183,000 in India,” the survey said.

The survey observed that the tourism sector represents relatively low hanging fruit for job creation amid a challenging environment in services and manufacturing industries due to the rise of Artificial Intelligence, protectionism, and supply concerns. “India needs to seize the opportunity,” the survey said.

The Union Tourism Ministry has initiated the Incredible India Tourism Facilitator Certificate Programme to formalise employment within the sector and aims to create a skilled cadre of tourist facilitators nationwide through a digital platform that offers online learning opportunities and certification courses, the survey said.

The Economic Survey further said that India has significantly earned foreign exchange receipts amounting to over ₹2.3 lakh crore through tourism. The country’s share of foreign exchange earnings in world tourism receipts increased from 1.38% in 2021 to 1.58% in 2022.

Hotels are also adopting innovative operational strategies, including leasing or managing external restaurant, spa, and lounge brands, to capitalise on established concepts that attract hotel residents, thereby boosting revenue, the survey said.

In the financial year 2023-24, the average daily rate increased from ₹6,704 to ₹7,616, marking year-on-year growth of 13.6%, the survey said.

V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Advisor. File.
| Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh

Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran on March 14 said he is “worried” over retail investors’ play in risky Futures and Options (F&O) segment in search of instant profits.

Speaking at a conference organised by capital markets regulator Sebi and NISM, Nageswaran said the biggest threat to sustainable capital formation and also sustainable economic growth is the “short-termism” in attitudes that the country is afflicted with.

Bemoaning the “furore” caused every time, there is a discussion on allowing corporate groups to promote banks despite the need for capital in a growing economy, Mr. Nageswaran said India Inc needs to reflect on the state of corporate governance practices and analyse its own conduct.

“The biggest risk for sustained capital formation and sustained economic growth is… in our short-termism,” he said.

He added that it is “puzzling” to see that a country otherwise blessed with a “deep spiritual heritage and wisdom” is actually interpreting mindfulness and living in the present in the wrong ways.

Mr. Nageswaran rued that even now, people are mentioning handsome growth in F&O volumes, despite SEBI’s own studies suggesting that 90% of trades in the riskier segment leading to losses for investors.

“Our actions make me worry that we may be interpreting mindfulness and living in the present as being myopic,” he said, making it clear that those two concepts stress on performing one’s duty and obligations without thinking about the fruits of the actions.

He said there is a need to change the outlook from a behaviourial perspective to achieve goals like long-term capital formation and growth.

Mr. Nageswaran rued that there is an “adversarial” attitude among many stakeholders when it comes to regulators, wherein people overlook the fact a regulator’s job is to have a long-term view of things and “providing counterbalance for instant gratification or myopia”.

“The underline focus that the regulators have is to ensure that we stay stronger for longer rather than get caught up in the immediate euphoria of our growth rates, market valuations,” he said.

Amid concerns that the activity in the F&O segment is fuelled by those seeking quick profits, he said the rising exposure of small investors in the segment “is a worry because we don’t want to go through boom and bust cycles again and again”.

Mr. Nageswaran said the economy is likely to grow 7% in FY25 as well, which will make it the third year in a row when the GDP has grown at over 7%.

Stating that capital formation and economic growth are interdependent, wherein one feeds into another, he said the only mantra for policymakers in such times is not to be conventional and described India’s prudent response to the Covid crisis as a case in point.

However, sustaining high growth performance has been “elusive” for India, which has had short periods of high growth that are typically followed by a long period of balancesheet repair, dud loan cleaning for lenders, etc, he said, reminding that “we need to keep in mind that China grew around double digits for three decades”.

“There is a need to ensure that we don’t indulge in excess lending or excess borrowing in the current cycle as well”, he said, adding that we need to make detailed plans with projections on growth, capital required, how it will come, how much as debt and how much as equity.

Banks also need to be adequately capitalised to fund the growth needs of the economy, and corporate ownership of banks will have to be allowed if the banks are to get the capital, he said.

“Why is it a taboo to even discuss corporate ownership of banks? The fact that a mere discussion of the idea of licensing of banks to corporate houses creates such a backlash or a furore is indeed a cause for reflection on the part of the corporates too,” he said.

“It is also unfortunately a reflection on the overall state of corporate governance in the country,” Mr. Nageswaran said.