Economic Survey only shows government's 'pessimism': Chidambaram

Economic Survey only shows government's 'pessimism': Chidambaram

P Chidambaram.(File Photo: IANS)

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday slammed the Modi government, saying its first Economic Survey has "no sector-wise growth projections" and the regime itself appears to be pessimistic about the economy.

In a statement, the senior Congress leader said that in the survey 2018-19, the first under new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the "first sentence of Volume 1, Chapter 1 is self-congratulatory".

"I looked for the Outlook for 2019-20. It is in Volume 2, Chapter 1, but only a bland statement that growth of the economy expected to be 7 per cent in 2019-20... There are no growth projections sector wise," he said.

Noting that the survey flags "slowing growth, shortfall in revenues, finding resources without compromising the fiscal deficit target, impact of oil prices on the current account and recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission on Central government finances", he said: "I am afraid, none of these is positive or encouraging."

"It appears to me that the government, speaking through the Economic Survey, is pessimistic about the economy," he added.

--IANS

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