Warning on China, update on food inflation: Here are top highlights from Economic Survey 2025

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday tabled the Economic Survey 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, marking the beginning of the Budget session.

The survey, prepared under the supervision of Chief Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran, focused on inflation, capital expenditure, IPO listings, growing influence of China, as well as the very real threat of massive job losses in the era of artificial intelligence.

CEA Nageswaran mentioned that the Indian economy is poised to do better in the second half of FY25 despite heightened global uncertainties. He also mentioned that the COVID pandemic-induced stress on the Indian economy has been completely done away with.

Here are the top highlights of the Economic Survey tabled today:

1. Given the rapid industrial expansion in China, our neighbour will surpass the US and its allies and account 45 per cent of all global manufacturing by 2030. 
2. The document also mentioned that in an extended war of production, there is no guarantee that the entire world could defeat China alone. 
3. India needs to achieve a growth of ~8 per cent at constant prices for a decade or so to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047. 
4. As per the Survey, India's share in global IPO listings hit 30 per cent in 2024, up from 17 per cent in 2023. 
5. Furthermore, the document stated that until November 2024, defence, railways, and road transport accounted for about 75 per cent of the total capital expenditure while power and food distribution sectors also saw a significant growth. 
6. The Economic Survey tabled today mentioned that food inflation is likely to soften around Q4FY25 due to the seasonal easing of vegetable prices and the arrival of the Kharif season.
7. Not just this, the document tabled by Sitharaman also raised concerns over India's ability to balance AI-driven productivity with the high likelihood of job losses, given its size and its relatively low per-capita income. 
8. The Economic Survey also stated that the insurance sector in India grew by around 7.7 per cent and attracted 62 per cent of the total FDI inflows in FY24. 
9. The country's insurance sector is projected to become fastest growing market among G20 nations over the next 5 years. Health and motor insurance significantly contributed to the growth of India's insurance sector, as per the document. 
10. While the penetration of life insurance slightly went down from 3 per cent to 2.8 per cent in FY24, the penetration of non-life insurance remained stable at 1 per cent.