Appointment of New CEA Just Before Economic Survey: Economic survey is to be presented on 31st January, which is the job of CEA to prepare. But the new CEA has been appointed on this 28 January. After all, what is the significance of this last-minute appointment?
Importance of Appointing New CEA in the Last Moment: The central government has taken a big step by appointing the Chief Economic Adviser, three days before the Economic Survey is to be presented on January 31. This important post was lying vacant since the end of the tenure of the previous CEA in the first week of December 2021. In fact, V Subramaniam, the previous CEA, had announced in October 2021 that he would not continue in this post after the end of his term. His term also ended in the first week of December, but the appointment of a new CEA has been announced now (on January 28).
Questions were being raised on the vacant post of CEA
While the post of CEA remained vacant, there were discussions that this time the Economic Survey would have to be presented in the absence of CEA. There were also reports that due to the absence of CEA, this time the Economic Survey will be presented in one volume instead of two, in which there will be no place for the policy prescription to be presented by the Chief Economic Advisor.
In fact, preparing the Economic Survey to be presented before the budget is considered the biggest responsibility of CEA. In such a situation, had this post remained vacant on 31 January, critics would have got another opportunity to question the functioning of the government. Clearly, the timing of the appointment of economist V Anantha Nageswaran as CEA can also be seen as an attempt to silence criticism. But the question still remains that whether this last-minute appointment will have any impact on the process and quality of the Economic Survey preparation?
What are the benefits of last minute appointment?
One can understand that the preparation of a detailed document like the Economic Survey is a time-consuming task. The CEA, who assumes office three days before the date of presentation, will hardly be able to make any changes or value additions. If we look at this issue from another point of view, then the question can also arise that whether the role of CEA in preparing the Economic Survey is really so important or is this post only for the name, due to which no one can control the whole process due to its absence. Doesn’t make much difference? The question is also that what is the importance of economic survey in the management of the country’s economy?
Why is economic survey important?
Professor Arun Kumar, a well-known economist of the country, says that it is the responsibility of the Economic Survey to reach the right results by deeply analyzing the economic situation of the country, so that the way to revive the economy can be found. According to him, it is also expected that the Economic Survey will work to give the right direction to the budget proposals. Especially in times of economic crisis, its importance increases even more. Arun Kumar explains that the budget is a technical document, which is not easy to understand properly for those people who are not experts in this subject, even if they are very intelligent and educated. But through the Economic Survey, such people can understand the economic condition of the country to a great extent.
What will be the impact on the economic survey?
Senior economist Professor Praveen Jha says that the Economic Survey is counted among the most important economic and financial documents of the country presented every year. They say that the CEA’s post remaining vacant during the preparation of such an important document is no less than a joke. They feel that the present government is not serious about the importance of such specialization posts and considers them only ceremonial. Professor Jha says that the Economic Survey may be a part of the economic vision of the then government, but historically the role of the Chief Economic Advisor and his team has been very important in preparing it.
Professor Arun Kumar believes that in the difficult and complex phase that the country’s economy is going through at the moment, only a professional economist in the form of CEA can play the responsibility of showing the right economic direction by analyzing all the data closely. They tell that the work of CEA is not easy. For this, such a specialist is needed, who has a wide understanding and experience about the economy, so that he can present a multidimensional picture of the economy correctly. According to Arun Kumar, there have been many CEAs who have gone ahead and given a new direction to the analysis of the economy, but if the post of CEA remains vacant while preparing the Economic Survey, then it can affect the quality of the survey. . They say that in the absence of the CEA, the Economic Survey may have been prepared, but it will be a routine survey, which will not include the analysis to be added by the CEA, which the country needs at this time.
How is the Economic Survey prepared?
The responsibility of preparing the Economic Survey rests with the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the Ministry of Finance. This work is completed under the direct direction of the Chief Economic Adviser. In a way, the CEA is the main author or architect of this report. The common custom is that after the CEA has finalized this report, it is presented to the Finance Minister for formal approval.
The Economic Survey presents to the country the direction and context of the announcements made in the budget a day before the Union Budget. In this, the details of the major trends of all the sectors related to the country’s economy and their condition during the last one year are present with complete data. Along with this, the Economic Survey also presents a blueprint of the major economic challenges facing the country and the ways to deal with them. Under this survey, all the data of the economy is collected from different ministries and departments of the government and presented together in such a way that the economic picture of the country emerges clearly.
Financial Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Biz news and updates.
,