• Hindi
  • Heritage Edge
  • Sports Edge
  • Wildlife Edge
SHARP. BITTER. NEUTRAL.
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
The Edge Media
Thursday, October 2, 2025
  • Home
  • National Edge
  • State Edge
  • Political Edge
  • World Edge
  • Entertainment Edge
  • Business Edge
  • Sports Edge
  • Home
  • National Edge
  • State Edge
  • Political Edge
  • World Edge
  • Entertainment Edge
  • Business Edge
  • Sports Edge
No Result
View All Result
The Edge Media
No Result
View All Result
Home Main Story

Chidambaram to PM Modi- remove your current economic advisers, bring a new team

The Edge Media by The Edge Media
5 years ago
in Main Story, National Edge, Political Edge
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare via TelegramSend To WhatsApp

Prime Minister Modi knows the knack of moving away from the hot seat and finding a limelight for himself. After promising that he will win the war against coronavirus in 21 days and imposing Lockdown 1.0 and 2.0, he quickly distanced himself from subsequent lockdowns. Near the end of Lockdown 2.0, he quietly passed the buck to the state governments and the chief ministers. Until then, his word was the iron law, now it is left to the Home Secretary to issue ambiguous notifications and to the ICMR to blithely announce, on the day the number of infected persons crossed 2 lakh, that the “peak is very far away”.

The Rs 20-lakh-crore Economic Stimulus Package was Mr Modi’s brainchild. No economist would have put her signature to a khichdi of more liquidity, grand five-year plans and little actual money, and called it a Stimulus Package. With the package expected to fall flat, Mr Modi left it to the Finance Minister to “fill the details”. The FM ran out of steam on the second day.

PM distances himself
Mr Modi no longer speaks on Jammu & Kashmir; that is left to the bureaucrats in Srinagar. He does not speak on the cross-border violations or the loss of lives of jawans; that is left to the generals. He has not spoken so far on the confrontation with China; he has left it to the Defence Minister to read the handouts of the Army HQ and to the Foreign Minister to negotiate with China.

Mr Modi did not utter a word on the migrant workers’ mass reverse migration for a whole month in April. When the issue became uncontrollably explosive, it was the Railway Minister who came forward not to take the blame but to accuse the state governments. Thousands of migrant workers are still stranded at railway stations and bus stations not knowing when they will be able to find public transport.

The Prime Minister, looking for a limelight, grabbed the invitation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to address their General Body. I understand no PM had addressed their general body before, which came as a big surprise to me.

Not difficult — true or false?
What he said to the general body, of course, came as no surprise. Even allowing that Prime Ministers must keep the spirits high, Mr Modi’s speech was typical of the person. The PM said, “Trust me, getting growth back is not so difficult.” Is that correct? If getting growth back was not so difficult, why did the government not stop the slide in the GDP growth rate in 2017-18? Why did the government stand by helplessly when the growth rate declined for eight successive quarters till Q4 of 2019-20?

Surely, the PM knows that the growth rate of 3.1% in Q4 of 2019-20 was the lowest since Q3 of 2002-03, when BJP was in power. Also, that the growth rate of 4.2% for the year 2019-20 was the lowest in 17 years. Not even the 2008 international financial crisis caused such a hit on India’s growth rate. 

The FM is often quoted as ridiculing the UPA’s performance in 2012-13 and 2013-14, deliberately ignoring the numbers put out officially by the CSO: 5.2% in 2011-12, (I returned as FM on August 1, 2012), 5.5% in 2012-13 and 6.4% in 2013-14 (see graph). To remind the FM again, the UPA handed over an economy on the upswing to the NDA.

To be fair, the NDA maintained the pace in 2014-15, 2015-16 and for most part of 2016-17, when, consumed by hubris, the government announced demonetisation on November 8, 2016. That is when the slide began and, despite the PM’s declaration that “getting growth back is not so difficult”, NDA I and NDA II have proved that the task was beyond their capacity.

The missing ‘I’
Industry, trade and commerce know that. Exporters know that. MSMEs know that. Construction sector knows that. Economists, except government’s own, know that. Now, even daily wage earners and migrant workers know that. Hope has faded every day; now, hope is lost completely that the Modi government will be able to revive economic growth. The PM has shown unwillingness to listen to good advice, but I shall not give up. The PM’s latest talisman, the “five I” (intent, inclusion, infrastructure, investment and innovation) misses at least one, if not two, crucial ‘I’ words. The missing element is “income”. Nearly 125 million persons lost their jobs in the last three months. AIMO survey shows 35% of MSMEs and 37% of self-employed businesspersons have lost hope of recovery and will close down their businesses.

It is elementary economics that income alone – money in people’s hands – will revive demand; demand will spur supply and production; production will bring back jobs and incentivise investment; and all of these will revive growth. This economic principle is doubly valid in a time of recession which is where India is headed in 2020-21.
My final submission to the Honourable Prime Minister: Axe your current economic advisers and bring in a new team that will give you sound advice.

Website: pchidambaram.in
Twitter @Pchidambaram_IN

Previous Post

India witnessed its highest single-day spike with 9,971 new COVID-19 cases and 6,929 deaths

Next Post

PIB Chief KS Dhatwalia tests Covid-19 positive admitted in AIIMS Delhi

Related News

The Edge Magazine – September 2025

The Edge Magazine – September 2025

by The Edge Media
September 3, 2025
0

What’s Next? SC Revises Stray Dog Order, Directs Sterilisation and Return but Dog Lovers, NGOs Asked to Deposit Costs

What’s Next? SC Revises Stray Dog Order, Directs Sterilisation and Return but Dog Lovers, NGOs Asked to Deposit Costs

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

The Supreme Court has revised its August 11 order on stray dogs, ruling that sterilised and vaccinated animals be released...

Supreme Court Orders Aggressive Sterilisation to Control Stray Dog Population: A Landmark Verdict Ensures Public Safety & Animal Welfare

Supreme Court Orders Aggressive Sterilisation to Control Stray Dog Population: A Landmark Verdict Ensures Public Safety & Animal Welfare

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court of India has directed aggressive sterilisation of stray dogs under the ABC Rules,...

“Marriage Is Not for Absolute Freedom” – Supreme Court’s Bold Statement on Relationships

“Marriage Is Not for Absolute Freedom” – Supreme Court’s Bold Statement on Relationships

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court stated that marriage requires compromise and responsibility, warning against unrealistic expectations of absolute...

BJP Leader Rekha Gupta Gets Z+ Security Cover Amid Threat Concerns

BJP Leader Rekha Gupta Gets Z+ Security Cover Amid Threat Concerns

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

BJP leader Rekha Gupta has been granted Z+ category security cover following intelligence warnings of threats, sparking political debate.

India to Launch First-Ever Human Space Mission ‘Gaganyaan’ in December 2025

India to Launch First-Ever Human Space Mission ‘Gaganyaan’ in December 2025

by The Edge Media
August 23, 2025
0

ISRO has announced December 2025 as the launch date for India’s first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, marking a new era...

Discussion about this post

Recommended

Extreme heat waves are now expected to happen once per decade : UN climate science report

4 years ago
गंगा में लाशें मिलने पर केंद्र और यूपी- बिहार सरकार से राष्ट्रीय मानव अधिकार आयोग ने 4 हफ्तों में माँगा जबाब

गंगा में लाशें मिलने पर केंद्र और यूपी- बिहार सरकार से राष्ट्रीय मानव अधिकार आयोग ने 4 हफ्तों में माँगा जबाब

4 years ago

Popular News

  • The Edge Magazine – September 2025

    The Edge Magazine – September 2025

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What’s Next? SC Revises Stray Dog Order, Directs Sterilisation and Return but Dog Lovers, NGOs Asked to Deposit Costs

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Supreme Court Orders Aggressive Sterilisation to Control Stray Dog Population: A Landmark Verdict Ensures Public Safety & Animal Welfare

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • “Marriage Is Not for Absolute Freedom” – Supreme Court’s Bold Statement on Relationships

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • BJP Leader Rekha Gupta Gets Z+ Security Cover Amid Threat Concerns

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hindi
  • Heritage Edge
  • Sports Edge
  • Wildlife Edge
SHARP. BITTER. NEUTRAL.

© 2024 The Edge Media All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • National Edge
  • State Edge
  • Political Edge
  • World Edge
  • Entertainment Edge
  • Business Edge
  • Sports Edge

© 2024 The Edge Media All Rights Reserved.