Manmohan Singh blames Modi government for Economic slowdown

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Manmohan Singh blames Modi government for Economic slowdown
Manmohan Singh blames Modi government for Economic slowdown

New Delhi : Former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh on Sunday blamed Modi government for all-round mismanagement that has slowed down economy of India, urging them to put aside politics of vendetta and reach out to all sane voices to steer the economy out of this “man-made crisis”.

In a statement, Manmohan Singh said, “The state of the economy today is deeply worrying. The last quarter’s GDP growth rate of 5% signals that we are in the midst of a prolonged slowdown. India has the potential to grow at a much faster rate but all-round mismanagement by the Modi government has resulted in this slowdown.”

“Our youth, farmers and farmworkers, entrepreneurs and the marginalised sections deserve better. India cannot afford to continue down this path. Therefore, I urge the government to put aside vendetta politics, and reach out to all sane voices and thinking minds, to steer our economy out of this man-made crisis,” he added.

As per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), India's economic growth stood at 5 per cent, a 25-quarter low, in the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal.

Dr Singh raised concerns at the slowdown in the manufacturing sector, which grew at only 0.6% in Q1 as compared to 12% in the same quarter last year. “It is particularly distressing that the manufacturing sector’s growth is tottering at 0.6%. This makes it very clear that our economy has not yet recovered from the man-made blunders of demonetisation and a hastily implemented GST.”

“Domestic demand is depressed and consumption growth is at an 18-month low. Nominal GDP growth is at a 15 year low. There is a gaping hole in tax revenues. Tax buoyancy remains elusive as businessmen, small and big, are hounded and tax terrorism continues unabated. Investor sentiments are in doldrums. These are not the foundations for economic recovery,” he added.