NEW DELHI: Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Monday attacked the government’s handling of the economy, saying it is facing twin problems — rising unemployment and falling consumption but denies it.
“We are living in denial and we are ignoring two big elephants in the room — one is rising unemployment and the other is fall in consumption. Unemployment rises, consumption falls, the Indian economy becomes poorer and not richer,” Chidambaram said, starting the debate on the Union Budget 2020-21 in the Rajya Sabha.
Highlighting an 11-year-low GDP growth at 4.5 per cent in 2019 and consumer price inflation at 7.4 per cent, he said that credit to agriculture has declined from 18.3 per cent to 5.3 per cent and that for MSMEs from 6.7 per cent to 1.6 per cent.
“We have an economy which is perilously close to collapse. It has to be attended to by very competent doctors. In the last few years, we have found the doctors are not so competent,” Chidambaram said. In the Lok Sabha, other opposition leaders also expressed concern over the “decline” in investment in the country and said the expected GDP growth rate and tax collection figures appear unrealistic.
BJD member B Mahtab said investment in India has been the main driver of growth, but it has been declining since 1991. “We are measuring GDP growth ... more the investment, the growth would be faster and quicker,” he said, adding that “adequate corrective measures” are necessary and the government should not lose sight of wider reforms in the public sector.
Supriya Sule of NCP dismissed the Budget as “long and tiresome” and said the government is “living in a fairy-tale world”. Defending measures in the Budget, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi said there is a balance between intent and content in the Budget.
FM met industry leaders
FM Nirmala Sitharaman met industry leaders on the proposed direct tax dispute resolution scheme, ‘Vivad se Vishwas’, where they have sought extension of the scheme by one month