Editor’s Pick: An economy on the mend

The Hindu Newsletter - Newsletter - subject [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Saturday 30, January 2021 [alt_text]( Editor's Pick An economy on the mend [alt_text]( (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the [Economic Survey]( on Friday that details the state of the economy ahead of the government's budget. The survey, authored by by a team led by Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramaniam, said India’s economy is firmly in the middle of a V-shaped recovery and will bounce back strongly[to record 11% growth in 2021-22]( after an estimated 7.7% contraction this year. It termed the projected growth estimate a [‘lockdown dividend’]( from the country’s stringent response to the COVID-19 pandemic and said the country had been willing to take ‘short term pain for long term gain.’ The 11 percent figure,[the survey]( pointed out, is a conservative estimate and is close to the IMF projection of 11.5 % growth for the Indian economy in fiscal 2022. While the absolute growth numbers may be remarkable due to the ‘low base effect’, returning to pre-pandemic growth and output levels would take longer. The survey notes that the global economy, including India, has been set back in time by the pandemic-induced crisis but that the Indian economy has inherent strengths that could allow it to bounce back strongly. And while it defended the conservative fiscal stimulus during the initial phase of the pandemic, it nonetheless made a clear and strong pitch for the government to loosen its purse strings to spur the economy with a ‘counter-cyclical fiscal push’ till the country returns to its pre-COVID growth path. Employing a cricket metaphor, Mr Subramaniam likened India’s economic approach to the batting styles of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishab Pant. Once the vagaries of new ball swing had been seen off with Pujara’s trademark resilience, it is then time for Pant’s more aggressive approach, he said, adding that was what policy makers are now focused on. The expectations have thus been set high for the union budget that is to be presented on Monday. Will the government finally deliver an expansionary approach on spending, moving from survival to revival as Mr Subramanian indicates? As we look ahead to a crucial budget presentation, this story is our top pick of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz Name the Australian umpire who recently announced his retirement from international cricket after officiating in all three formats of the game for over 15 years. 1. Richard Kettleborough 2. Nigel Llong 3. Bruce Oxenford 4. Rod Tucker To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( The Big Story [Economic Survey predicts 11% growth in fiscal 2022]( [alt_text]( From the Front Page [alt_text]( [Amid street clashes, fresh support pours in for farmers]( [alt_text]( [India reassures Israel after blast outside Embassy in New Delhi]( From the Opinion Pages [alt_text]( [A Budget blueprint for difficult times]( [alt_text]( [A champion of science, pro-poor technology]( Today's Editorials [In search of malice: On FIRs aga](inst journalists [Wide aisle: On 2021 Budget sessi](on You are receiving this email because you are a user of [thehindu.com]( If you do not wish to receive any such emails, [unsubscribe here.](mailto:rm-0bfeqbg0bf2f90kaup33rtbysa8hksw@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.) To ensure you continue to receive emails from The Hindu in your inbox, please add newsletters.th@newsalert.thehindu.com to your contact. If you can't see the mailer, please [click here.]( Group Sites [The Hindu]( | [இந்து தமிழ் திசை]( | [Business Line]( | [BL on Campus]( | [Sportstar]( | [Frontline]( | [The Hindu Centre]( | [Images]( | [roofandfloor]( | [Classifieds]( Copyright @ 2021 ,THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. [About Us]( | [Contact Us]( | [Digital Subscription](