Economy of India Is in Bad Shape: Congress

As the economic conditions in India are going from bad to worse, the opposition Congress party has blamed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its failure to revive the dwindling economy.

“BJP claims that India is the fastest growing major economy of the world but it seems to have lost its credibility as the numbers are not looking good and are telling a disjointed story,” Congress said in a statement released Tuesday.

Congress suggests that it is time to cut through the hype and look at some of the numbers which need careful consideration.

“The economy is just not picking up regardless of the government’s tall claims,” said Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

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If we choose to look at the Sensex as a scoreboard for the economy, it tells us a very interesting story, says Congress.

A year ago, on Feb 23, 2015, the Sensex stood at 28,975, while it has now slipped to 23,536 on Feb 23, 2016. The Sensex has shed about 5,500 points in the last one year, which is roughly close to 20%.

In 2015, the Sensex was down by roughly 150 points, but in 2016 the fall has so far been around 1300 points, indicating the direction in which the wind is blowing.

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The BJP and its leadership, according to Congress, had made the value of the Indian Rupee an election issue during the last Lok Sabha elections but the Indian Rupee has lost almost 17% of its value since the Modi government took over.

On 26 May, 2016, the exchange rate was Rs 58.69 to a Dollar, which has declined to Rs 68.65, a slump of Rs 9.96, or 17%.

Exports have been taking a hit continuously for the last 14 months and it would be difficult to remember when this happened the last time. Exports fell 13.6% in January and 17 of the 30 sectors are showing a negative trend.

Worryingly, according to Congress, the government seems clueless on the exports front even as its decline is leading to a loss of jobs for the working class.

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The biggest issue, however, has been the manner in which the government has been denying the benefits of low international crude prices to the people of the country.

This has led to a situation where the consumer demand has taken a further hit. This has created a situation where the government’s Direct Tax collections have taken a massive hit while Indirect Tax collections are expected to ‘exceed’ targets.

As of February 13, 2016, the Direct Tax collections were around 69% of the targets, while the Indirect Taxes about 84% of targets and were expected to cross the target of Rs 6.5 lakh crore.

Taxes from petroleum products is going to be a major chunk of this as the government has gone on an overdrive to raise resources from the only source of revenue available to them.

The government can be in a state of denial but there is little use in putting on a game face when the world already knows the reality. It is time to get real and get down to work. The government has three years to deliver on its promises and India cannot wait, Congress warns.

Photo courtesy: Congress