The Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Center will come up with a 'white report' on economic irregularities in the country before 2014 under the Congress-led UPA regime. It is for this reason that the current budget session of Parliament has been extended by one more day, ANI news agency reported citing sources.
The White paper India's economic woes during the UPA regime and its negative impact on the economy will be elaborated upon. The white paper will also address the impact of positive measures taken during that time, the agency said.
Earlier on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her interim budget speech, had said that she would publish a white paper comparing the state of the Indian economy before and after 2014.
„It is pertinent to look at where we were till 2014 and where we are now, if only to learn from the mismanagement of those years. The government will put a white paper on the table of the House,” the finance minister said. .
The finance minister said in a post-Budget conversation with Network 18 that the white paper would focus on the mismanagement of the economy during the previous regime.
„We have lost 10 glorious years… Every part of the economy has been ridden with problems, from banks to minerals,” FM Sitharaman was quoted as saying by Network 18.
Why is the White Paper coming now?
It is to be noted that the upcoming general elections to elect the 543 members of the Lok Sabha are expected to be held between April and May 2024. The term of the 17th Lok Sabha ends on June 16, 2024.
According to many economists, the track record of the BJP-led NDA government is currently impressive. The country is expected to become the world's third largest economy with a GDP of $5 trillion in the next three years and reach $7 trillion by 2030 on the back of a series of reforms. Ten years ago, the country was the world's 10th largest economy, with a GDP of $1.9 trillion at current market prices.
Today, despite the pandemic and inheriting an economy with macro imbalances and a broken financial sector, it is the 5th largest with a GDP of $3.7 trillion (estimated FY24).
„Strength in domestic demand has driven the economy to a growth rate of 7% over the last three years… In FY25, real GDP growth will be close to 7%,” says a review released by the finance ministry. Interim Budget 2024. And there is considerable scope for the growth rate to rise above 7% by 2030, it added.
The central government's confidence was reflected in the finance minister's budget speech. “The economy has gained a new energy. The benefits of development began to reach the masses. The country has got a new purpose and hope,” FM Sitharaman said during his speech.
Here's a detailed 3-minute summary of everything Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech: Click to download!