News Analysis |
Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi found himself under fire over his economic performance from inside his party on Wednesday. BJP veteran Yashwant Sinha, a former finance minister, has skewered his own government’s economic performance in a lacerating opinion published in the Indian Express newspaper this morning, titled “I need to speak up now”.
Modi will try to shake off the gloom surrounding India’s economy with this news, the attacks of opponents and critics seem to increase day by day
Yashwant Sinha, who was sidelined after the BJP returned to power in 2014 and has often been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, grimly notes what he calls “the mess the Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) has made” of the economy and remarks that many may share his views but are silent out of “fear”.
“I shall be failing in my national duty if I did not speak up even now against the mess the finance minister has made of the economy. I am also convinced that what I am going to say reflects the sentiments of a large number of people in the BJP and elsewhere who are not speaking up out of fear,” Mr. Sinha writes in the Express article.
But there is some good news as well. A new World Economic Forum study indicates his government has made progress in strengthening overall business sentiment
The Congress, led by party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, launched a frontal attack on the Modi government over the state of the economy, after BJP leader Yashwant Sinha aired his views on the “mess”, and warned people to brace for tougher times ahead.
India’s economic growth hit a three-year low during the April-June period, enveloping Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a barrage of criticism for poor execution of major reforms such as the recent national sales tax and observers point to how the “economy is in a state of flux” in India.
Critics assert that Modi’s policy of demonetization was a major culprit in halting the already faltering Indian economy. In November last year, Modi announced the radical step to demonetize the currency notes in order to tackle the rampant problem of the so-called black money – billions of dollars’ worth of cash in unaccounted wealth and fake currency notes. The government decided to introduce a new 500 rupee note and also introduce a higher denomination banknote of 2,000 rupees. However, not only did the process fail but had a devastating effect on the economy.
Facts and figures paint a grim picture of the economy. The GDP has fallen from 9.2 percent to 5.7 percent and (as per old methodology of calculation) will be about 3.5 percent. The NPA in India has risen to Rs 11 lakh crore while the share of exports in the GDP is at 14 year low of 19.4 percent.
Facts and figures paint a grim picture of the economy. The GDP has fallen from 9.2 percent to 5.7 percent and as per old (methodology of calculation) will be about 3.5 percent
The Credit growth is lowest in the last 63 years and manufacturing PMI is at a low of eight years, with inflation at a five-month high.
But there is some good news as well. A new World Economic Forum study indicates his government has made progress in strengthening overall business sentiment. The South Asian giant ranked 40th out of 137 countries on the organization’s 2017 global competitiveness ranking — one spot lower than last year’s edition, but still its highest-ever score in WEF’s current methodology. However, it is yet to be seen how Modi will try to shake off the gloom surrounding India’s economy.