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Economic Survey 2017-18 : Growth to accelerate to 7-7.5
29-Jan-2018

  • The Economic Survey - the Indian government's flagship document that reviews the developments in the economy over the past 12 months - pegs India's growth at 6.75% for FY18, higher than the Central Statistics Office's (CSO) estimate of 6.5%. It estimates growth to improve to 7%-7.5% in FY19, with downside risks emanating from higher crude oil prices, rising protectionist tendencies, and tighter monetary conditions across the globe.
  • According to the Survey, GST collections have been surprisingly robust in the first five months post GST implementation, allaying fears of a shortfall in indirect tax collection. Higher than average buoyancy so far implies that GST could be a resilient source of revenue in the future.
  • It also points to a sharp 50% increase in the number of unique registered indirect tax payers post GST implementation and computes that the GST tax base (at INR 65-70t) and the implied Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) at 15.6% are in line with the previous estimates, alleviating concerns surrounding the GST.