On top of Sushil’s article on our economy -racing to disaster-a direct answer is required to the muddled thinking of the CE of L’Express in his article “Economic growth or Political Inflation ?” - a stark disparity between his narrative and the economic realities especially the fact that the key macroeconomic indicators are being cynically doctored by our Pada to hide the reality.
Our Pada and his promoter are boasting of growths of 8.9% in 2022 , 7% in 2023 and 6.5 % in 2024.
In spite of the faking of GDP figures since 2022, the GDP at market prices in 2022 was still lower in real terms to that of 2019-only 96% of the 2019 GDPmp. In 2023, it was only 2.9% higher than in 2019. And in 2024, if we exclude as mentioned by Sushil the “ questionable inclusion of offshore primary income in domestic income”, the forecast may still be lower than the IMF forecast of a 4.9% growth- driven by an overestimation of construction activities as major social housing and public transportation projects are ramped up and the recovery of tourism to pre-pandemic levels-far from the cooked up figure of 6.5%.
About the rising profitability of enterprises and the creation of a favorable environment for business growth, how could one expect anything different from a poodle of the private sector- protecting and defending their narrow interests?
Since his appointment as MoF, the economic dynamics are being shaped by subservient policies in the interests of the private sector while our workers continue to bear the brunt of such policies.
The increase in minimum wage and the guaranteed minimum income etc. (rapidly eroded by inflation ) are mere economic theatrics-crumbs for workers from the banquet table where the economic elite are having a feast- enormous profits from the deliberate depreciation of the rupee and price-gouging , Rs 20 billion as wage assistance scheme , export promotion subsidies, and some Rs 50 billion(printed money) from the MIC which bailed out the corporates to their advantage at our cost and the billions reaped from real estate schemes and speculation on FX…
A temporary windfall gains tax on the big corporates and the top exporting companies could have made a difference to our cost of living -lower petroleum prices, the maintenance of subsidies on essential household items…
That would be expecting too much from l’homme du sector privé! Meanwhile the depreciation of the rupee goes on and who benefits most from that …
