‘India Withstood Them Better’: Economic Survey 2023 Lists 6 Challenges Faced By Global Economy

Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled by FM Nirmala Sitharaman says India will witness a 6-6.8% GDP growth in 2023-24 ‘depending on the trajectory of economic and political developments globally’.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2022-23 in Parliament on Tuesday. ( Image Source :Getty/Indiabudget.gov.in )

The Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday says India will witness a GDP growth of 6% to 6.8% in 2023-24, “depending on the trajectory of economic and political developments globally”, even as it notes that the global economy is battling through a unique set of challenges. 

Stating that the prices of crude oil, natural gas, fertilisers, wheat and other such critical commodities soared as the world faced “as many disruptions as caused by the pandemic in two years”, the survey talks about six challenges faced by the global economy. 

Covid Impact To China Slowdown: The 6 Challenges To Global Growth  

Two of these challenges are Covid-19 that disrupted economies across the world, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict that impacted supply chains of food, fuel and fertiliser.

The third challenge, according to the survey, came in the form of synchronised policy rate hikes by the central banks across the world, led by the Federal Reserve, to curb inflation. This led to US Dollar appreciating and the current account deficits (CAD) widening in net importing economies. 

“Inflation and monetary tightening led to a hardening of bond yields across economies and resulted in an outflow of equity capital from most of the economies around the world into the traditionally safe-haven market of the US,” the survey explains. Noting that the “capital flight” led to the US Dollar strengthening, by 16.1% between January and September 2022, it says the depreciation of other currencies has been widening the CAD in the net importing economies besides increasing inflationary pressures.

The fourth challenge, the survey notes, came as countries slowed cross-border trade as they tried to protect their respective economic space amid a global stagflation threat, affecting overall growth. 

A fifth challenge festered all along as China’s policies caused a considerable slowdown in the country, the survey says. 

The sixth “medium-term” challenge, according to the survey, came in the form of “loss of education and income-earning opportunities” brought in by the pandemic. 

The survey claims that though India also faced this “extraordinary” set of challenges, it “withstood them better than most economies”.