Economic Survey 2026 Live Updates: FM Nirmala Sitharaman tables Economic Survey, GDP Growth 6.8-7.2%

"The paradox of 2025 is that India’s strongest macroeconomic performance in decades has
collided with a global system that no longer rewards macroeconomic success with currency
stability, capital inflows, or strategic insulation," says the Economic Survey.

Economic Survey 2025-26 is a 799-page document. It is divided into 16 parts this year.

Here are the titles of the 16 chapters:

1. State of the economy: Pushing the growth frontier

2. Fiscal developments: Anchoring stability through credible consolidation

3. Monetary management and financial intermediation: Refining the regulatory touch

4. External sector: Playing the long game

5. Inflation: Tamed and anchored

6. Agriculture and food management: Raising productivity, securing income and ensuring

7. Services: From stability to new frontiers

8. Industry’s next leap: Structural transformation and global integration

9. Investment and infrastructure: Strengthening connectivity, capacity and competitiveness

10. Environment and climate change: Building a resilient, competitive and development-driven India

11. Education and health: What works and what’s next

12. Employment and skill development: Getting skilling right

13. Rural development and social progress: From participation to partnership

14. Evolution of the AI ecosystem in India: The way forward

15. Urbanisation: Making India’s cities work for its citizens

16. Part 1: From import substitution to strategic resilience and strategic indispensability

16. Part 2: Building strategic resilience and strategic indispensability: The role of the state, the private sector and the citizens

“The best-case scenario for the world in 2026 is ‘business as in 2025’, but one that becomes increasingly less secure and more fragile. In this setting, with the margin of safety being thinner, minor shocks can escalate into larger reverberations. Financial stress episodes, trade frictions, and geopolitical escalations do not lead to systemic collapse, but they do create volatility and require governments to intervene more actively to stabilise expectations. This scenario is less about continuity and more about managed disorder, with countries operating in a world that remains integrated yet increasingly distrustful,” says the Economic Survey 2026.

The global economic environment remains uncertain, influenced by ongoing geopolitical tensions, trade disruptions, and uneven growth and inflation trends across major economies, the Economic Survey 2026 said.

While global economic activity has shown short-term resilience, the Survey noted that structural vulnerabilities continue to persist, including rising fiscal pressures, fragmented supply chains, and the growing use of economic policy tools for strategic objectives.

The Indian rupee underperformed in 2025, according to the Economic Survey 2025–26. India continues to run a trade deficit in goods, and its net surplus from services exports and remittances is insufficient to fully offset this gap.

The Survey notes that India relies on foreign capital inflows to maintain a stable balance of payments. When these inflows weaken, pressure on the rupee intensifies, affecting its stability.

“The rupee’s valuation does not accurately reflect India’s stellar economic fundamentals. In other words, the rupee, therefore, is punching below its weight.”

The Economic Survey 2026 has projected that India’s economy will grow at a robust pace in FY 2026-27, with the GDP growth seen in the range of 6.8% to 7.2%.

The Economic Survey is important because it provides a comprehensive assessment of the Indian economy and helps shape policy decisions for the year ahead. It explains how the economy has performed, identifies key challenges, and highlights areas that need policy attention.

By presenting official data, analysis, and reform priorities, the Survey sets the context for the Union Budget and signals the government’s economic direction. It also offers a GDP growth outlook and sector-wise insights, helping policymakers, businesses, investors, and citizens understand the country’s economic health and future prospects.

The Economic Survey is an annual document presented by the Union government that reviews the state of the Indian economy over the past year. Prepared by the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance and released in the name of the Chief Economic Advisor, it analyses major economic trends, policy outcomes, and key challenges facing the economy.

The Survey provides data-driven insights on GDP growth, inflation, employment, fiscal position, external sector performance, and sector-wise developments such as agriculture, industry, and services. It also outlines the government’s reform priorities and offers policy recommendations, often setting the tone and context for the Union Budget that follows.