Let us talk about the lousy condition of our country’s economy. How all the records have been smashed and how our GDP has reached a negative two digit number. Our country witnesses around 8000 Covid-19 cases in a single day which is a record in itself. No other country in the world gets such a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in a single day. Hence, we can say that this pernicious COVID-19 has brought India on her knees. Be it central government or local administration, every sector compels helpless populace to follow draconian laws and regulations. For instance, students are asked to sit in different entrance examinations where they can no way follow social distancing and other COVID-19 guidelines. The questions that keep on patrolling the mind need to be answered! questions like, why does administration force hapless students imperil their precious lives? What is more precious, a human life or victory in a competitive exam?
The economic condition of our country is so deteriorated that the GDP growth rate has boiled down to -23.9%, which is comparatively worse and alarming! To add salt into the wounds, our media personnel’s do not highlight such important issues and try their level best to keep people in the darkness of ignorance. They distract people by circulating absurd and irrelevant news to hide the ground reality of our country. As soon as GDP news became public, the official trolls were sown to fool people across the country. Graphics were made viral on social media showing a growth rate of around -32% the USA, -38% in Canada, -28% in Japan and so on. Such figures could somehow envelope the truth.
But unfortunately, it was all fake and fabricated. These official trolls were intentionally made viral to befool masses and make them believe that India comparatively stand at a better position in the list. Actually the data was correct but the comparison was wrong. Ironically, Quarter GDP figures were compared with annual GDP figures. If you look at the same scale, you can elucidate that the USA has a quarterly GDP growth rate of -9%, Europe has -11.7%, Britain has -2.4% and India has -25.6% respectively. There is no doubt that as many major developed or developing countries as there are, India is the worst performing country. The reasons for this are very simple and crystal clear. The government's previous decisions like demonetisation, imposition of GST, bank frauds and bad economic policies are the prime reasons which mercilessly curbed the prosperity of India. Except India and some other countries like the UK, the effect of Covid-19 on the GDP growth rate is said to lie in the range of -7% to -11%. USA, Russia, Australia and Brazil accounted for -9% approximately but India is the worst hit. Data recording of quarterly GDP growth rate was initiated in 1996. Till date it has been the worst quarterly performance in India. In 1979-80, India witnessed its worst annual GDP growth of -5.2%. Many experts agree that when the annual figures come out, it will be worse, worse than that recorded in 1979-80. Also experts believe that the government was raising interest rates on estimation of GDP growth rate in earlier years. If you take this into account, the same experts now say that the actual GDP data will be as much as -30%. If you look at the sectors as well as the GDP breaks, then every sector has a negative GDP growth rate except the agriculture sector. But experts believe that there are so many job losses that the people have returned to the agriculture sector, due to which it is showing positive growth. The World Bank estimates that more than 12 million Indians will be below poverty line because of these crises. At a time when the economy is in such dire straits, the cost of commodities remains low, but today the situation is totally opposite. When all the data is kept in the hands of the government and questions are asked, the government uses displacement mechanism and blames the deity for such unprecedented crises or claiming that the situation is under control. But the GDP growth rate had already begun to take shape long before Covid-19 hence we can't blame this itty-bitty virus for our entire ruin.
In such a situation, when logging is a problem, it is difficult to spend, and when logging is low your investment is low, and when the investment is low, the overall GDP is low. Many economists suggest that the government needs to intervene and take steps to increase the economy of state like bailouts should be extended to small businesses, and funding should be raised in schemes like MGNREGA so that money can be raised. It is also suggested that the government should increase its debt to GDP ratio so that the state government gets an opportunity to spend more money. Today the GDP growth rate is so negative that it is less likely to become positive in future, but in the long run, say after two years, we will find out whether our economic growth has improved or deteriorated. Let's hope that our government will design such policies and strategies to combat this terrifying drop in GDP.
Email:-lone.waseem.393@gmail.com
