Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said that it appeared that the central government, speaking through the Economic Survey, was pessimistic about the economy.
In a statement, he said there are no growth projections sector wise in the first survey of the new government and the first under the new Finance Minister.
"The first sentence of Volume-1. Chapter 01 is self-congratulatory. ('During the past five years, India's economy has performed well'). I looked for the Outlook for 2019-20. It is in Volume-2, Chapter 01, but there is onloy a bland statement that "growth of the economy expected to be 7 per cent in 2019-20," Chidambaram said.
The senior Congress leader also said the closes in terms of describing the outlook for 2019-20 can be found in Volume-2, Chapter02. The Economic Survey flags slowoing growth, shortfall in revenue, finding resources without compromising the fiscal deficit target, impact of oil prices on the current accoutn and recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission on central govern ment finances.
"I am afraid none of these is positive or encouraging," he said.