Economy, Jobs, Inflation: Report Card of Modi Govt’s 7 Years
The Quint’s Shadab Moizee reviews how the government has fared on various fronts, such as economy and employment.
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Video Producers: Shadab Moizee, Naman Shah
Video Editor: Shubham Khurana
While the second wave of COVID has not yet subsided, Modi government has listed out achievements while being in power for seven years. Speaking on his government’s achievements in Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not even mention several of his dream projects like Make in India, Demonetisation, and GST.
Plummeting Economy
The GDP (Gross Domestic Produce) growth rate for 2020-21 has been decreased to -7.3% from 7.14% in 2014, when the Modi government came to power. This downfall cannot be entirely attributed to the COVID pandemic. The GDP growth rate was only 4.18% in the year before the pandemic, i.e. 2019-20.
Where Is Make in India
The ‘Make in India’ initiative was one of the flagship projects of the government that was prominently promoted with the promise of bringing 10 crore manufacturing jobs in the country by 2022. According to CEDA-CMIE, about 5 crore people worked in this sector in 2016-17. By 2020-21, the sector employed only 2.7 crore people. Instead of doubling the jobs to 10 crore, manufacturing sector witnessed a massive reduction of jobs in 2020-21, to almost half of the 2016-17 figure.
Rising Levels of Unemployment
A report of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) states that more than one crore jobs were lost in the second wave of coronavirus. The unemployment rate on 30 May 2021 was 11.8%. Income of about 97% families were decreased since the pandemic began last year. Even before the pandemic, in 2019, India was facing its highest unemployment level in 45 years.
According to the annual salary survey by Aon Hewitt, salary increment rate in 2014 was 10 percent, whereas the same figure was reduced to 6.1 percent in 2020.
Skyrocketing Fuel Prices
Petrol prices in June 2014 were Rs 71.51 per litre in Delhi. This has increased to Rs 94.49 per litre in June 2021. Whereas diesel’s price in Delhi was Rs 57.28 per litre in June 2014, which has now reached Rs 85.38 per litre in June 2021. Even though crude oil prices were decreasing in the international market, Indian government kept increasing the duties to keep the fuel prices up.
Grocery Expenditure Doubled
Overall, inflation has taken a huge toll on households. Price of Arhar Dal, that was Rs 90 per kg in June-July 2013, reached Rs 108 per kg in Delhi by May 2021. Similarly, mustard oil’s price has increased to Rs 171 per litre in May 2021 from Rs 90 per litre in 2014.
Increasing Gap in Income Inequality
Wealth of Indian billionaires like Ambani and Adani saw a multifold increase in the past year but India’s rank on Global Hunger Index is continuing its downward rally. In 2014, India was ranked 55th among 76 countries, while in 2020 its rank was 94th among 107 countries.
Corporate profits against GDP reached a 10-year high. On the contrary, around 7.2 crore people slipped below poverty line in 2020, according to a Pew research report.
Even amid such a critical situation, if the government claims of doing 70 years of work in seven years, then we will rightfully question, Janab Aise Kaise?
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