According to the new GDP figures, the country’s economy grew by 8.4 percent in the third quarter of 2023-24, which is the highest level in the last six quarters. However, former economic advisor Arvind Subramanian does not agree with this. Arvind Subramanian, who served as an economic advisor in the Narendra Modi government, has raised questions about the GDP figures. He termed the new growth figures in GDP as ‘ambiguous’.
Arvind Subramanian, who served as the country’s economic advisor from 2014 to 2018, participated in the India Today Conclave, where he said that the government has declared implicit inflation figures of 1-1.5%, whereas the actual inflation is 3-5%. He also said that while the economy was growing at a rate of 7.5%, private consumption was declining at a rate of 3%.
Recently, the government presented GDP figures. According to them, the country’s economy grew by 8.4 percent in the third quarter of the financial year 2023-24, which is the highest level in the last six quarters. In addition to this, the GDP figures for the first and second quarters of the current financial year have been revised from 7.8 percent and 7.6 percent to 8.2 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively. This means that the country’s economy is growing faster than expected, according to the government.
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Arvind Subramanian, who attended the conclave, also questioned the declining foreign direct investment (FDI). He said that in the last two or three quarters, there has been a sharp decline in FDI. He said, “It is not only that India’s FDI is not decreasing, but India’s share in global FDI in emerging markets has also decreased. So the question is, if India has become such an attractive destination for investment, then why is more FDI not coming? Corporate investment in the country is also significantly lower than in 2016.” However, Subramanian praised the increasing manufacturing capacity in southern states. He also praised the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the Self-Reliant India policy. He said, “Factories are opening on a large scale. Where 5,000-50,000 workers are getting employment. In addition, India is also gaining good market share in service exports in the global market.”
Who is Arvind Subramanian?
Arvind Subramanian is a prominent economist who holds a high position in the country. He was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor during the first term of the Narendra Modi government in October 2014. Subramanian worked in this position for about 4 years. Former Finance Minister, late Arun Jaitley, publicly praised Arvind Subramanian for his government’s excellent schemes when the news of Subramanian’s resignation was made public. He also praised Arvind Subramanian for his significant role in JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile). Through this scheme, the government claims to help the poor by directly transferring money to their bank accounts.