Rahul Gandhi tweeted again a data table originally shared by renowned economist Kaushik Basu (Archive)
New Delhi:
Congressman Rahul Gandhi this afternoon cited figures compiled by renowned economist Kaushik Basu, which project that India’s GDP is the fastest shrinking among a selection of 11 Asian nations, including China, to deal another blow to the government. .
“How to completely destroy an economy and infect the maximum number of people very quickly,” Gandhi tweeted, with a data table showing projected GDP growth (for 2020) for 11 Asian countries and the number of coronavirus-related deaths (per million). for each.
India, with a projected 10.3 percent GDP contraction (according to an IMF report released earlier last week) and 83 Covid-related deaths per million, is at the bottom of a list that includes China, Bangladesh, Pakistan. , Nepal and Sri Lanka. .
How to completely destroy an economy and infect the maximum number of people very quickly. pic.twitter.com/5kbMpmnIpZ
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 19, 2020
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a report released last Tuesday, said it expected India’s economy to contract by 10.3 percent, a huge downward revision from its June prediction for a government under pressure. for their handling of the pandemic and the economic consequences. .
Gandhi broke that revelation, accusing the government of ignoring repeated warnings from experts about the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic had affected the economy.
Kaushik Basu, who served as Chief Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance, tweeted another warning today: “Don’t be in data denial. Errors happen, admit and take corrective action …”
Even a few years ago, no one could have imagined that the Indian economy would be where it is. A part of this is caused by Covid, but only a part; see Table. Lessons: Don’t be into data denial. Mistakes happen: admit and take corrective action. Use the talent and experience available in the country. pic.twitter.com/5HbWgwufGW
– Kaushik Basu (@kaushikcbasu) October 19, 2020
In August, the government said that India’s GDP had contracted 23.9 percent, much worse than expected, in April-June as the pandemic crippled key industries and left millions out of work.
Since then, the government has called for a kind of recovery, on both fronts.
Earlier this month, the Finance Ministry said that “the resurgence in demand is palpable in many sectors” and yesterday a government-appointed committee said the country had crossed the peak of the coronavirus.
One of the points claimed by the committee was that the early closure, which triggered the economic problems, had significantly helped reduce the number of deaths due to the virus.
Meanwhile, in addition to highlighting a potentially difficult 2020 for India’s GDP (something several economists and reports have already pointed out), the IMF report triggered another row when it suggested that India’s GDP per capita will fall below that of Bangladesh.
Rahul Gandhi pounced on that too, tweeting: “Solid achievement from 6 years of BJP hate-filled cultural nationalism. Bangladesh is ready to overtake India.”
Solid 6-year achievement of hate-filled cultural nationalism from BJP:
Bangladesh prepares to overtake India.
👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/waOdsLNUVg
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 14, 2020
Shortly thereafter, government sources issued a clarification, claiming that in terms of purchasing power parity, a measure of GDP representing relative differences between countries, India’s GDP per capita in 2019 was actually 11 times that of Bangladesh. .
China, which according to the data sheet shared first by Basu and later by Gandhi, is forecast to post positive GDP growth (1.9%) this year.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, will post an impressive 3.8% GDP growth by 2020.
This afternoon, China released its GDP figures from July to September and said its economy had grown 4.9 percent, the same as last year and only marginally below the 5.2 percent expected.
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