Government Breaking Records
KAKALI DAS

In any development index, be it the rule of law index, democracy index, hunger index, press freedom index, our rank has declined over the last few years. How did that come about?
Let’s discuss 8 points of honest data; how these 8 things have broken all records.
- The value Rupee in the gutter – There was once a time when people claimed rupee will be 40 a dollar. In 8 years, after continuous hard work, 1 USD is now Rs78 and approaching Rs80. It is a substantial fall. It is well known that the value of USA is gaining stronghold over Rupee. Rupee has fallen despite godi media trying so hard to convince us otherwise. The rupee can’t rise by the fear of bulldozer!
- Double Current Account Deficit (CAD) – A Current Account Deficit occurs when the total value of goods and services a country imports exceeds the total value of goods and services it exports. Let’s say India sells products worth $100 billion to the world and imports $110 billion. This means $10 billion deficit. This is called Current Account Deficit or CAD. In 2021-22, this number was $189 billion compared to $102 billion in 2020-21. Almost making a double. In other words, make in India is making less strides than buy in India. Record breaking exports of $417 billion we have made, and you will find these messages circulating on WhatsApp. What’s missing on these WhatsApp forwards is the number of imports, that is $610 billion. It is 193-billion-dollar deficit and the biggest beneficiary is China. In 2021-22, import from China increased by 45%. And here, we banned Tiktok and broke few TVs! Imports from China increased by 45.51 per cent in FY22 to Rs7.02 trillion, as per the Commerce Ministry. And, our exports to China increased by 0.61%.

- Inflation – Inflation is another major problem. In April 2022, retail inflation was 8-year high – a record of 7.79% in April. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is also 15.1%. To some extent, Russia-Ukraine war is responsible for high inflation. Key role was played by domestic fuel price rise. Now, a central banker is saying that a fight against inflation will not be painless. This is not the first time the inflation skyrocketed after war. It has happened before, like during the second world war or the Great Depression in the US. If you want to know more about the history of great wars, lots of documentaries are available.

- GDS – When will India be a $5 trillion economy? – Only recently, our Textiles, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that India will be $30 trillion economy in 30 years. But what happened to the erstwhile $5 trillion goal? As if it has been achieved already. (Slow claps). To be $5 trillion economy requires consistent 8-9% growth in minimum 4-5 years. This percentage is not hard to keep. Not to forget GDP is bouncing back from negative, so positive number may sound good, but in actual numbers we are still behind.
- Low Production of Crude Oil – Our oil import is 85%, so only 15% is domestically produced. Petrol price is high, but our domestic crude oil production of 28.4 million tonnes is 28-year low. It sounds like a big production but our consumption is way higher, 200 million tonnes. Two reasons for this record low production: Firstly, aging (drying or emptying) oil wells, like pocket of a common man. Second is lack of investment in investigation, exploration and drilling of oil.
- Silence of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) – CAG is a government body that audits expenses of central and state governments. 8 years ago, CAG made many headlines. They exposed CWG scam and 1.7 lakh crore 2G scam. The investigating body has mellowed over the years. Let me explain how. When New India Express filed RTI to know by how much CAG reports have declined, it was found that in 3 years, before 2014, CAG filed 39 reports in 2011. In 2020, this number was 14, a fall of 75%. Is this a masterstroke by the government?

- Falling of 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler sales – 21% fall in last year, and 10-year lowest number of sales in 2-wheelers. Same goes for 3-wheeler sales, as they were lowest in 19 years. Why is this the case? Simply because people have no money. On the other hand, despite everything, luxury cars see accelerated demand. This means rich are getting richer and poor poorer. So, luxury car sales don’t indicate healthy economic situation.

- Decline in EPF, Jobs and PSU – EPF interest rate is lowest in 4 decades. When data showed unemployment to be at 45-year high, it was done away with. Public sector enterprises have accumulated losses of 1.4 lakh crore.
These are the 8 things in 8 years that broke all records. These are government data above, so no question of international conspiracy. Now, do we question? Or do we turn blind eye to these worrying numbers? Remember – politics will worsen as economy struggles more. So, actually, it is our savings and economy that are in danger.
[Headline Image: indiatoday.in]
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