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   Budget 2016: Economic Survey forsees the economic growth rate for the coming fiscal to remain at 7-7.75 percent due to domestic factors and warns that the upcoming Union Budget 2016 will have to contend with an unusually challenging and weak external environment. The Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Friday, also expresses concern over pan-India GST being elusive, the divestment programme falling short of target and recast of the distortive subsidy regime, especially for fertilisers, being a work-in-progress. This apart, the survey says, balance sheets of Indian banks remain stressed, becoming a roadblock to the revival of private investments, adding to the anxiety that the country's growth potential of 8-10 percent in the long term. However, CEA Arvind Subramanian says, "In sum, for now, but not indefinitely, the sweet spot for India is still beckoningly there". We decode the Economic Survey 2016: (Express Photo)

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   Economic Survey 2016: Survey says India still has the second highest number of undernourished people, warranting immediate action. Over 42 percent of its pregnant women are underweight. "Despite recent progress, India generally under-performs on maternal and child-health indicators, it says, adding: "India is already half-way through its demographic dividend and taking the full advantage requires a healthy and educated population." (PTI)

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   Economic Survey 2016: The survey warns that if the world lurches into a crisis or slides further into weakness, India's economic growth, too, will be severely affected. "This year's Economic Survey comes against the backdrop of an unusually volatile external environment with significant risks of weaker global activity and non-trivial risks of extreme events. Fortifying the Indian economy against possible spill-over is consequently one obvious necessity. Another necessity is recalibration of expectations," it says - the survey is authored by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian. (Express Photo)

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   Economic Survey 2016: On the positive side, though, the survey says India will remain the fastest-growing large economy and a refuge of stability with an outpost of opportunity, even as steps taken toward a stable tax tax system, ease of doing business and foreign participation have gone down well globally. It also projects the retail inflation to ease further to 4.5-5 percent in 2016-17. (Express Photo)

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   Economic Survey 2016: The survey wants the government to put in place a good exit policy for industry, notably startups as it will remove impediments to investments, job creation and growth. It also wants focus to return towards agriculture and human needs like health and education to reap the demographic dividend. "While dynamic sectors such as services such as services and manufacturing tend to grab public attention, India cannot afford to neglect its agriculture. After all, nearly 42 percent of Indian households derive bulk of their income from farming." (Reuters)

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   Economic Survey 2016: Survey says the coming year will be a challenging one, calling for improving tax compliance, tapping new revenue sources, re-look expenditure and recast subsidies. It wants the income tax net to widen from 5.5 percent of earning individuals to 20 percent. Notwithstanding the volatality and turmoil, the survey says the Indian equity markets have been relatively resiliant compared to peers in other major emerging market economies, and potentially sees the country as the leading investment destination due to its robust economic fundamentals. (Express Photo)

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   Budget 2016: The report called India "a haven of stability" in a gloomy international landscape but, as Group of 20 finance ministers gathered for talks in Shanghai, warned too of possible currency turmoil in Asia after China's recent devaluation. The Economic Survey, which sets the scene for Jaitley's third budget on Monday, forecast the Indian economy would grow by between 7.0 percent and 7.75 percent in the 2016/17 fiscal year that starts on April 1. That would be in line with this year's expected outturn of 7.6 percent but below earlier expectations that growth would accelerate to over 8 percent. (PTI)