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Speaking at the Golden Jubilee Year celebrations of Institute of Company Secretaries of India in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the Indian economic situation. He hit out at the opposition and critics, and called them pessimists.
Recently, there have been talks about the Indian economy seeing a slump. Modi, during his speech in Delhi, presented data points on economic progress during his government's regime to counter the criticism that has been directed at the government recently.
Modi also highlighted that demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) were great success.
"We made strict black money rules...Demonetisation is a great success... Hoarding black money is not an easy task anymore," he said. For GST, government has added 19 lakh taxpayers.
Here's a glimpse of what he said on the economy
> GDP growth
The GDP growth slumped to 5.7 percent in the first quarter of current fiscal. Modi compared it to the growth number during UPA regime and said that growth has fallen earlier also.
> Inflation
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated in the monetary policy that a rise in inflation is likely in the second half of the current fiscal, which is a concern. However, Modi said that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a key indicator to show the rise and fall in inflation, has fallen sharply since 2011-12.
Modi also highlighted that the fiscal deficit has fallen compared to 2011. The fiscal deficit which was earlier at 5.9 percent is now 3.5 percent, showing that the government's revenues are increasing stating that the economy is healthy.
> Foreign Exchange Reserves
Talking about foreign exchange reserves, which again add to the government's revenues, he said that it has increased to USD 402 billion up to September 2017 from USD 294.4 billion in 2011.
> Consumption-led growth
While the GVA growth forecast for FY18 was lowered by the RBI MPC in their October meeting to 6.7 percent from 7.3 percent, Modi said that consumption has seen a boost and pointed that India is moving towards a consumption-led growth.
#Roads
Modi said that the economy's infrastructure in roads has improved since 2011. In his slides, he points that more national highways are being constructed and the government is spending more on roads today than 2011.
#Railways
Speaking on the railway sector, he said that the construction, gauge conversion and doubling of railway tracks have increased. Meanwhile, there have been many derailments and punctuality issues in superfast trains.
The Prime Minister states that more than 26 lakh houses have been built under the PMAY scheme compared to the earlier housing scheme, JNNURM, which was not under his reign.
#Power
The UJALA scheme, which aims to light up every household, distributes LED appliances to the household enrolled under the scheme. Modi pointed that not only is the government achieving that goal but is also taking energy efficient measures.
> Mudra Yojana
To encourage consumers to deposit money in bank accounts, Modi introduced the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which are microfinancing units. Here, he states that more than 38 lakh people have enrolled in this scheme.
"The criticism that we have got in the last few days, we take it in right sense," Modi said. In his speech, he reassured that the government "values each and every penny of people's hard-earned money" and that the government keeps in mind benefits of schemes and policies for the lower and middle-class people.
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