Economic Survey: What to expect from today's budget season opener

The Budget session of the Parliament is all set to open with the presentation of the Economic Survey of India on January 29.
The Economic Survey is typically presented a day before the Union Budget. But this year it is being brought earlier than usual because the day-before-budget this time is a Sunday.

Like every year, the 2020-21 Survey will present an estimation of the progress the Indian economy made during the preceding 12-month period. The forecasts put out by the survey, along with the reasons cited for them, evince keen interest in economy watchers.

The survey will feature the details and outcomes of the schemes and policies implemented by the government during the year under review. Moreover, the survey will likely provide hints about what is in store for the economy in the coming days.

This year's survey assumes a much higher significance in view of the unprecedented manner in which 2020 played out. From hitting a multi-decade GDP trough in Q1 to making a noticeable recovery in the quarter that followed, the Indian economy has been in an extremely fluid state all through 2020-21.

Because of the havoc wreaked by the pandemic, pointers related to all major indicators of the economy will be in sharp focus at this year's survey presentation. These indicators include agricultural output, factory production, the state of infra, foreign trade, inflation, jobs, etc, among others.

Despite the visible economic damage wrought by Covid, official numbers are still hard to come by. That is generating more interest in this year's Economic Survey and the indications that it might give about what's coming.