New Delhi, January 31: Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian, speaking at the press conference in Delhi on Friday, said that wilful defaulters eroded India's wealth which could "have spent almost double the amount on social sectors." The Chief Economic Advisor also said that firms that borrowed a lot during 2008-12 invested less during 2013-17. Economic Survey 2020-21 Tabled in Lok Sabha, Projects Economic Growth at 6% to 6.5%.

Subramanian blamed the Economic slowdown since 2017 to the lagged effect of reduced investment from 2013 which occurred due to credit boom-bust.

Highlighting the government's push to entrepreneurs, he said that the analysis of wealth creators by entrepreneurs shows that wealth creation benefits everyone.

"Government intervention is required when there is market failure, the market failures today are much less than they were in the 1950s or the 1980s; this should be considered while reviewing our laws," said Subramanian.

Talking on jobs and the survey, the CEA said that, "The Survey lays focus on enabling imports of components so that they can be assembled in India and then exported to create jobs." On the issue of food storage, he added that, "there is need to bring in a distinction between hoarding and storage of food grains, this will play an important role in doubling farmers' income."

The Economic Survey on Friday projected India's economic growth at 6 percent to 6.5 percent in the next financial year starting April 1, saying growth has bottomed out.

The growth in 2020-21 compares to a projected 5 percent expansion in 2019-20. Weak global growth impacting India as well as investment slowdown due to financial sector issues had led to growth dropping to a decade low in current fiscal, it said, adding 5 percent growth projected for 2019-20 is the lowest it could fall for now. Growth slipped to 4.5 percent in the July-September quarter.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2020 03:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).