Modi introspects on high expectations
27 May 2015 5:46 AM IST
“Economic growth has been revived, and (India) is amongst the fastest in the world. Inflation is substantially down. Fiscal prudence has been restored. Confidence is up. Foreign investments have increased.
“This positive outlook is endorsed by major rating agencies and international institutions across the world,” he said in an open letter to citizens on achievements of his government on the economic front in the last one year.
The government, he said, has implemented the pending “bold reforms” like decontrol of diesel, raising Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit on insurance and defence and is moving ahead to roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
“One year ago, you had entrusted me with the task of building a new India and putting a derailed economy back on track. We have achieved a lot,” he said, adding “this is just the beginning. There is much more to be done and I know your expectations are high.”
The Indian economy is expected to grow at over 8 <g data-gr-id="45">per cent</g> in the current fiscal, up from 7.4 <g data-gr-id="46">per cent</g> in 2014-15. The fiscal deficit is budgeted to come down to 3.9 <g data-gr-id="47">per cent</g> of the GDP this fiscal, from 4 <g data-gr-id="48">per cent</g> a year ago. “Bold reforms pending for decades have been implemented”, Modi said, stressing that the benefits of growth should reach all sections of society, especially poor, farmers and women.
“Economic growth benefits all Indians. Growth, however, has meaning only if it empowers the poor, farmers, women, as well as middle and <g data-gr-id="51">neo-middle</g> classes of all communities. To enable us to continue paying remunerative prices to our farmers, we secured a permanent ‘peace clause’ at the WTO,” he said. He further said that through a financial inclusion drive a record 15 crore plus bank accounts have been opened and deposits of over Rs 15,800 crore mobilised.
An affordable social security system including pension, life insurance and accident insurance has already witnessed 6.75 crore enrolments in its first week, he added. MUDRA has been set up with a corpus of Rs 20,000 crore to help small businessmen, who despite being the biggest job creators have historically been starved of credit, he said.
In order to combat the menace of black money, the Prime Minister said, the government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and successfully piloted a new stringent law in Parliament.
Parliament recently passed the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Bill, 2015, which provides for a steep 120 per cent of tax and penalty on undisclosed foreign assets and income besides a jail term of up to 10 years to deal with black money stashed abroad.
The government, Modi said, is focusing on ease of doing business and working through ‘Make in India’ initiative to create new jobs. The other initiatives of the government include transferring cooking gas subsidies directly into the bank accounts to ensure that “right amount of subsidy, reaches the right people, at the right time.”
Besides increasing the FDI limits in insurance, railways and defence production, Modi said, “we have embraced the states as equal partners in national development, working as Team India in the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism.”
Political interference in public sector banking decisions is a thing of the past, he said, adding “transparent coal auctions and allotments have mobilised potential revenues of Rs 3.35 lakh crore to coal-bearing states over the lifespan of mines. And reform in the Mines Act has replaced a discretionary mechanism with a transparent auction process.”
Modi said nearly Rs 1 lakh crore of public investment has been allocated in this year’s budget to improve physical as well as digital connectivity.
“A comprehensive transformation of the railways into a locomotive of growth has begun. Stalled highway projects are being restructured and revived. Power generation is at an all-time high. A new National Infrastructure Investment Fund has been set up with an annual government funding of Rs 20,000 crore,” he said.
‘PM letter full of contradictions’
Lashing out against PM Narendra Modi’s Open Letter issued on Tuesday, the Congress contradicted each of the claims made by the NDA government in the first year. Addressing a press conference, senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “The Modi Government promised 10 crore jobs in 5 years. But I don’t think a single job has been provided so far. In <g data-gr-id="106">fact</g> the October to December 2014 quarter registered a slowdown in job growth from 1.82 lakh in April-June 2014 to 1.17 lakh. The claims that PM has made in his letter to countrymen, I have a counter charge against each and every claim.” Regarding PM’s claims of prices being brought down, Azad asserted that “Petrol and diesel prices have shot up and pulses and milk are costlier now. <g data-gr-id="103">Also</g> passenger rail fares have been hiked by railway minister by 14.2%.”
Countering Modi’s statement in the letter which said, “Uncompromising adherence to the principle of purity, in action as well as intent, ensured a corruption-free government”, Azad said, “Why is it that positions such as the head of the CVC, the CIC (under RTI) and the Lokpal are still vacant? <g data-gr-id="131">Also</g> important institutions like DRDO, CSIR, CDRI and others remain headless.” Hitting out at PM’s claims regarding rejuvenating economy, Azad who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said, “In spite of having the good fortune of low crude oil prices, the NDA government has ruthlessly cut allocations for social sector programs. It has also failed to do justice to the rural economy and neglected the agrarian sector. Growth in 8 core industrial sectors was 3.5% in 2014-15, lowest since 2009. 3000 companies reported that their net profits dropped by 17% in the December quarter whereas industrial production grew by a meagre 1.7%.”
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