Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Home / Budget / News / CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian to continue two-volume Economic Survey

CEA Krishnamurthy Subramanian to continue two-volume Economic Survey

Sources said the first volume will also likely include a chapter focusing on the regulatory framework for credit rating agencies

Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian
Premium
Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian
Nitin SethiSomesh Jha New Delhi
4 min read Last Updated : Jul 02 2019 | 11:03 AM IST
Connect with us
Facebook IconLinkedIN Icon
The Economy Survey will continue to be a two-volume report this time as it was in the past four years when Arvind Subramanian was the chief economic advisor (CEA). Incumbent Krishnam­urthy Subramanian will lead the writing of the first volume, which will continue to be idea-centric and forward-looking, said multiple sou­rces in the finance ministry.

Krishnamurthy Subram­anian began work on the Survey in January, said sources. “He got to it early and held several rounds of meetings with officials within the ministry and others to discuss focus areas for the first volume of the Survey,” one of the officials said.

The second part of the Survey, keeping with tradition, will be a reflection on the state of the economy, with detailed statistical data. Officials said the first volume of the Survey was likely to have some key themes, which would be closely aligned with the priorities of the National Democratic Alliance’s second tenure. 

These are expected to include “Clean India”, which includes the Union government’s commitment to supplying tapped drinking water to all by 2024 and delivering a cleaner energy mix to power the economy.

Another area of focus is likely to be the deployment and use of technology in delivering governance and benefits to citizens.


Sources said the first volume will also likely include a chapter focusing on the regulatory framework for credit rating agencies (CRAs), which are jointly regulated by the Secur­ities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) at present.

The role of CRAs came under the scanner of various bodies, including some investigative agencies, after they abruptly downgraded the ratings of bonds sold by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) and other entities following default on payment obligations last year. The CRAs had downgraded the bonds from high investment grade to default or junk status.

Krishnamurthy Subramanian, who has a PhD from Chicaco-Booth and is an IIT-IIM alumnus, is also likely to focus on banking and corporate governance and labour policies — key areas of his research. He may stress on the need for banks to leverage technology in a bid to screen and monitor borrowers’ behaviour and their willingness to pay.

“I think the two-pronged approach to the Survey is now set. The first one looks ahead and puts out ideas that the government may consider to implement. The first part presents how the finance ministry assesses the current situation,” said one of the officials.

Krishnamurthy Subram­anian would in that sense reflect the continuity in the finance ministry’s approach to the Survey. His predecessor, Arvind Subramanian starting with 2014-15, began the two-volume Survey.

In his first Survey, he coined terms such as JAM or Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile and the Twin-Balance Sheet challenge, sparking off debates in policy circles. 

In 2016-17 he gave a fillip to the arguments in favour of a Universal Basic Income, though his proposal veered away in substance from universality of income transfers, in light of India’s fiscal limitations. Arvind Subramanian also made use of Big Data and multiple datasets to throw light on migration and inter-state trade of goods.

“Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been a hard taskmaster through this process, pushing officials to come up as a collective with more ideas and suggestions and contributing to both the volumes. Many parts of the North Block have been involved in the process this time around. Perhaps that is the difference,” another official.

Pre-Budget talks begin today

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will start her pre-Budget consultations with stakeholders from Tuesday. She will meet representatives of agriculture, rural development sectors and industry, trade associations on June 11. 

Connect with us on WhatsApp

More From This Section

Budget 2019 wishlist: Here are the key challenges for oil and gas sector

Budget 2019 agriculture wishlist: Increase farmer income, investment in R&D

PM Narendra Modi starts pre-Budget meets to brainstorm on economy

Brokers demand cut in dividend distribution tax in upcoming Budget

Topics :Economic Survey

First Published: Jun 10 2019 | 11:46 PM IST

Explore News

Next Story