BJP Critiques UPA Growth Claims, Cites Scams Impacting GDP

Synopsis

The BJP has criticized Congress's assertion of achieving 7.6% growth, attributing the decline to 5.6% in 2012-13 to corruption and fiscal mismanagement. They highlight average growth rates, digital transaction increases, and poverty reduction under the Modi government as positive indicators.

Key Takeaways

UPA's growth rate averaged 6.8% from 2004-2014.
NDA's growth rate averaged 8.4% from 2014-2024.
India's GDP growth forecast for 2024-25 is 6.4%, highest globally.
Digital transactions surged from 2.2 billion to over 208.5 billion.
24.82 crore people exited multidimensional poverty under Modi.

New Delhi, Feb 7 (NationPress) The BJP has criticized the Congress for its main assertion of achieving 7.6 percent growth, noting that this was primarily due to the global economic upswing from 2004 to 2008, which obscures the drop to 5.6 percent in 2012-13, attributed to corruption and fiscal mismanagement.

The BJP's factsheet emphasizes that the average growth rate over the 10-year UPA period (2004-2014) was limited to 6.8 percent, in contrast to the NDA’s average of 8.4 percent from 2014 to 2024.

The UPA's strategy involved imprudent borrowing, resulting in a soaring current account deficit and 9.3 percent inflation. Conversely, despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India's GDP growth for 2024-25 is projected at 6.4 percent, the highest among leading economies, according to the factsheet.

It references the Economic Survey 2024-25 forecast of a 6.3-6.8 percent growth rate for fiscal year 25-26, aligning with projections from other financial institutions like the IMF.

The significant increase in digital transactions, soaring from 2.2 billion in 2013-14 to over 208.5 billion in 2024, propelled by Digital India, along with the establishment of 500 million bank accounts under PMJDY, exemplifies inclusive economic growth, as per the BJP factsheet.

Furthermore, it highlights the JAM Trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile Network), which facilitated direct benefit transfers of Rs 27,442.08 crore to 11.42 crore beneficiaries during a critical 24-day period in peak Covid-19.

The factsheet also points out that the Financial Inclusion Index improved from 53.9 in 2021 to 64.2 in 2024, indicating growth with equity.

According to the factsheet, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approximately 24.82 crore individuals have escaped multidimensional poverty from 2014-15 to 2022-23.

In stark contrast, the UPA administration was responsible for one of the most severe non-performing asset (NPA) crises in the banking sector. The ‘phone-a-loan’ scandal during the UPA era led to a dramatic increase in bad loans, endangering businesses and financial institutions, as stated in the factsheet.

By 2018, NPAs had escalated to an alarming 11.6 percent of gross advances, with the underlying issues traced back to poor lending choices made between 2008-2014. Notorious defaulters such as Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya, and Mehul Choksi thrived in the lax regulatory climate of the UPA period, it notes.

Additionally, the absence of a strong bankruptcy framework left struggling companies without a systematic exit strategy, which was only introduced in 2016 with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).