Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said the Economic Survey provides vital inputs for Budget preparation and can also be critical of government policies.
"It [Survey] charts economic development and challenges faced during the fiscal. It is a vital input for the preparation of the Budget. I view the Economic Survey as a vehicle for 14 new ideas and alternative policy options," Mukherjee told reporters here.
The Finance Minister tabled the Economic Survey 2011-12 in Parliament today.
The Survey, among other things, projected the economy to grow by about 7.6% in the next fiscal, up from 6.9% estimated in 2011-12.
"It [Survey] need not necessarily play the views of the government alone. Sometimes, it criticises the views of the Government or policies of the government," he said.
This year's Economic Survey has added two new Chapters-- financing of climate change and India's emergence in the global economy, which analyses the current global slowdown, eurozone crisis and what it means to India.
The 2011-12 Survey has also suggested the government adopt the path of fiscal consolidation to bring down fiscal deficit, besides undertaking a crackdown on corruption.