Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party pledged spend Rs 100 lakh crore on infrastructure to boost the economy and raise living standards, in a bid to match its main rival’s populist promises.
The BJP, which is seeking a retain power in elections starting April 11, released its manifesto in New Delhi on Monday, reiterating its pledge double farmer’s income by 2022, improve the GDP share from the manufacturing sector and double exports. It will also scrap Article 370 of the Indian Constitution which grants special concessions to the disputed state of Kashmir.
India’s 263 million farmers are a key voting bloc in the world’s largest democracy. The main opposition Congress Party has promised to write off farm loans throughout the country. To match it, BJP committed to invest 25 trillion rupees ($359 billion) in rural development and said farmers will receive 6,000 rupees per year in income support.
"The essence of the manifesto is to deplete poverty to single digits in next five years and then eventually eliminate it," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. "This manifesto has been prepared with a strong nationalist vision."
It also promised to take its flagship programs -- providing toilets, electricity connections, houses, cooking gas, crop insurance and loans for small businesses -- to more beneficiaries by allocating additional resources.
BJP, which is leading in opinion polls, is offering giveaways to stave off a challenge from Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi. Congress has promised in its manifesto to rid India of poverty by 2030 by providing income support to the poor, waiving farm loans and creating jobs.
‘New India’
"With this document we are committed to moving toward a new India," said Rajnath Singh, Home Minister and head of BJP’s election manifesto committee. "We will work on improving India’s ranking in ease of doing business," Singh said. "We will try to double exports."
The BJP is banking on the support of around 220 million Indians who have benefited directly from the government’s flagship programs, as well as a 750 billion rupees ($10.8 billion) income support program for small farmers and lower taxes for middle-class.
Modi has been criticized by the opposition for not fulfilling his promise of creating 10 million jobs each year -- a pledge that helped him win over India’s youth in the 2014 election. The ruling party denies this charge.
The boost to infrastructure will also "lead to creation of a large number of jobs and livelihood opportunities," the manifesto reads, noting the government would target "untapped employment-generation of potential of sectors such as defense and pharmaceuticals."