NEW DELHI: Initiating a short duration discussion on the state of the economy, investment, climate and job creation in the country and the need to address the challenge of rising unemployment in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, the Congress-led Opposition slammed the government for decline in all the parameters of economic growth.
Initiating the discussion, Congress leader Anand Sharma said, “It is true that at any given time there are opportunities and there are challenges before a country when it comes to economic issues, but if we look at the statements from the government, the claims of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, they contradict the ground realities. Indian economy, contrary to the claims of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister, I say with due respect, is not a galloping economy but a gasping economy, a struggling economy.”
“In the last three-and-a-half years, we have seen a regular decline when it comes to all parameters of the economy. There is not even one engine of growth which is actually running. I would like to be specific that how the decline is visible irrespective of the government remaining in denial,” he said.
All the four engines of growth, national investment, gross fixed capital formation, national savings rate and job creation have all declined, he said.
“The national investment rate has fallen by more than seven per cent. From 34.8 per cent, it is today 27 per cent. National savings rate, that is, people’s deposits in banks, has fallen by another four to five per cent. There is a sharp increase in the debt to GDP ratio.
The gross fixed capital formation, that is, when the new industries are set up, tangible investments take place which lead to job creation and growth, has fallen from 37 per cent to 28 per cent. Coming to exports, despite all the criticism of the Congress-led UPA government, it gave robust growth in its 10 years, though we have always admitted that there was a slowing down in the last one-and-a-half years, but our average growth rate of the GDP was still 7.8 per cent and the job creation, as per the data released by this government,” he added.
Other Opposition parties expressed similar sentiments and demanded the government to take corrective measures to give a fillip to economic growth. While Opposition parties blamed demonetisation and GST for the economic slowdown, the treasury benches said these initiatives—besides other such reform measures—have improved India’s ratings in terms of ease of doing business and FDI.