One sentence summary – Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has expressed worries about the economic challenges faced by ordinary households and small businesses in India, citing increased gold and personal loans as signs of distress and disputing the government’s claims about reduced savings, while also criticizing the Modi government for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on labor force participation, wages, essential commodity prices, foreign direct investment, and small businesses.
At a glance
- Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh expresses concerns about economic challenges faced by ordinary households and small businesses in India.
- Data from the RBI shows a significant increase in gold loans (23%) and personal loans (29%) over the past year, which Ramesh interprets as a sign of distress.
- Ramesh disputes the government’s claim that reduced savings are a result of increased car and home purchases.
- Ramesh criticizes the Modi government for its perceived failure to recover effectively from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Ramesh highlights various issues including declining labor force participation, lower wages for women, rising prices of essential commodities, decreased FDI, crony capitalism, and the adverse impact on small businesses.
The details
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has voiced concerns about the economic challenges faced by ordinary households and small businesses in India.
Data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) indicates a significant increase in gold loans (23%) and personal loans (29%) over the past year.
Ramesh interprets this increase as a sign of distress.
He suggests that individuals are resorting to debt to meet basic expenses.
Ramesh disputes the government’s claim that reduced savings are a result of increased car and home purchases.
He has criticized the Modi government for its perceived failure to effectively recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ramesh cites data showing a decline in labor force participation.
He also points to lower wages for women compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Rising prices of essential commodities, including pulses, sugar, atta, besan, and gur, are impacting ordinary families’ budgets, according to Ramesh.
Ramesh also highlights a 16% decrease in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
He attributes this decrease to the government’s crony capitalism, failed economic policies, and creation of communal tensions.
Ramesh claims that small businesses are losing ground due to the government’s crony capitalism.
This, he says, is making it challenging for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to compete.
Ramesh cites a report indicating that 80% of profits in 2022 were garnered by just 20 companies.
Meanwhile, the sales share of small businesses continues to decline.
Ramesh asserts that the Modi government has mismanaged the economy across all sectors.
He believes the government lacks the capability to rectify the situation.
These concerns encompass high unemployment, inflation levels, increased debt burden, declining savings, reduced labor force participation, lower wages for women, rising prices of essential commodities, decreased FDI, crony capitalism, and the adverse impact on small businesses.
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| thehindu.com |
|---|
| – Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that ordinary households and small businesses are facing intense pressure due to high unemployment and inflation levels. |
| – Ramesh cited data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showing a 23% increase in gold loans and a 29% increase in personal loans in the last year, which he sees as signs of distress as people go into debt to meet basic expenses. |
| – Ramesh countered the government’s claims that savings had declined due to increased purchases of cars and homes. – Ramesh criticized the Modi government for its failure to execute a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, citing data that showed a decrease in labor force participation and lower wages for women compared to pre-pandemic levels. |
| – Ramesh highlighted the rising prices of essential commodities such as pulses, sugar, atta, besan, and gur, which he said were impacting ordinary families’ budgets. – Ramesh mentioned a 16% fall in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and attributed it to the Modi government’s crony capitalism, failed economic policies, and stoking of communal tensions. |
| – Ramesh claimed that small businesses were losing out due to the government’s crony capitalism, making it difficult for MSMEs to compete. |
| – Ramesh cited a report stating that 80% of profits in 2022 went to just 20 companies, compared to small businesses’ declining share in sales. |
| – Ramesh concluded that the Modi government has mismanaged the economy across all sectors and is incapable of fixing it. |
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