The Congress on Sunday alleged that the Modi Government is burying the country’s future generations in debt as per capita debt has multiplied during the last years.
Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh on Sunday said debt per Indian increased from `43,124 to `109,373 since 2014.
“The total outstanding debt of the Government of India, which was 55.87 Lakh Crores as on March 31, 2014, would be estimated to go up to `155.31 Lakh Crores by March 31, 2023. By the end of the financial year 2023, each Indian will owe `109,373/- a loan they have never taken. From 1947 till March 31, 2014, debt per Indian was `43,124. But in the last nine years, debt per Indian has become 2.53 times what it was in 2014. In absolute terms, debt per Indian increased by `66,249 in the lastnine years,” Vallabh said at the Press conference.
He mentioned, as per IMF, for 2022, India debt to GDP was 83%, far above our peers, emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), which have average Debt of 64.5%.
“As per Oxfam report, the wealthiest 5% in India now own more than 60% of the country’s total wealth, while the bottom half of the population (50%) together share just 3% of the wealth. On the other side, 64% of the total `14.83 lakh crore in Goods and Services Tax (GST) came from the bottom 50% of the population, with only 3% of GST coming from the top 10%,” Vallabh who is Professor in economics said.
“So, the borrowing is just helping in the K-shaped recovery, with some sectors doing well but not others. The pandemic hit the middle- and low-income groups and small and medium industries harder. As a result, growth in consumption (PFCE*) fell from 25.9% in Q1 of FY23 to 9.7% in Q2,” Vallabh added.