Indian Economy cause of extreme concern, Reset policies,says PC

Congress leader and former finance minister P. Chidambaram hA said the country’s economy is a major cause of concern and time is ripe to reset the economic policies. Talking to the press at Udaipur, he  said a slower rate of growth has been the hallmark of the present government in the last 8 years, adding that the post-pandemic recovery has been indifferent and halting. Speaking on inflation, he said it has risen to unacceptable levels and threatens to rise further. The country’s wholesale price index (WPI) is at 14.55 per cent and the consumer price index (CPI) is at 7.79 per cent. The former union minister said the government is fueling the rise of inflation by its wrong policies, especially through high taxes on petrol and diesel, high administered prices, and high goods and services tax rates. Highlighting the issue of unemployment, he said the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is at a historic low of 40.38 per cent and the unemployment rate stands at 7.83%.

Chidambaram reiterated the charge that social services expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure has fallen to an average of 5 per cent (in 8 years) from an average of 9 per cent in the 10 years between 2004 and 2014. He said the external situation has added to the pressures on the economy. The senior Congress leader said, “The government appears clueless about the ways to deal with these developments.” He suggested that after 30 years, it is felt that taking into account global and domestic developments, it may be necessary to contemplate a re-set of the economic policies.“A re-set of economic policies must address the questions of rising inequalities; extreme poverty among the bottom 10 per cent of the population and India’s rank in the Global Hunger Index 2021 (101 out of 116 countries) among others,” he said. The former finance minister said the time is ripe for a comprehensive review of Centre-states' fiscal relations. He said the country should make use of automation, robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in learning and trade.