Jammu and Kashmir administration has initiated the process to prepare the first Economic Survey of J&K post abrogation of Article 370.
The last Economic Survey of Jammu and Kashmir was released by the then PDP-BJP government in 2017 which apart from giving a picture of the economic outlook had also dedicated some segments to the losses incurred by the Kashmir’s business community due to the 2016 agitation.
The economic survey is normally a yearly exercise.
As per the official communiqué of J&K Finance Department, the Financial Commissioner, Finance, will head the committee which has been tasked with the job of drafting the economic survey of 2020 and placing it before the expert level committee for analysis and editing.
As per the government order, the terms of reference of the committee are that the members of the committee will draft the chapters and have inputs from the concerned departments/organizations/institutions. However the official communiqué is silent on the tenure of the committee to complete the drafting process.
Earlier, the Economic Survey was tabled during the Budget session of assembly. However as per officials this time there is a bleak chance it will be presented along with the Budget.
It is pertinent to mention that J&K administration has projected an estimated Rs 1.20 lakh crore budget for the 2021-22 fiscal. The budget is to be approved by the administrative council and then presented by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament for approval as the provisions of J&K Re-organization empowers parliament to pass a budget of UT of J&K in absence of an elected government here.
The Economic Survey is divided into two volumes. Apart from an overall snapshot of the economy, the survey also provides an indication of what is coming.
An Economic Survey is a snapshot of the major economic developments that have taken place in the last one year and gives a glimpse of what is to come ahead in the short to medium term. It essentially lays the groundwork for the presentation of the Budget.