Vishwa Guru Bharat’s Great Vikas

One of the big propaganda themes of Modi-Shah is great ‘Vikas’ of fraud Vishwa Guru Bharat. Some prominent things that we read/listen to are:

· India will soon become a $ 5 trillion economy.

· India has overtaken Japan in GDP.

· India is the fastest growing economy in the world.

· Viksit Bharat by 2047.

This essay has been written with the following aims:

· To bust the myth of great ‘Vikas in Vishwa Guru Bharat.’

· To give factual data about the state of India’s economy.

· To explain to laypersons the truth about the economy and provide them with easy-to-understand information to counter the misinformation through various media.

Myth of Fastest Growing Economy

The GDP projections which come from government sources as also the IMF (which are also dependent upon Indian government’s sources) are exaggerated considerably. Thus, the over 6 percent growth projection which we keep reading/listening to is incorrect. The real GDP growth is in the zone of 2-3 percent. Let me explain this in simple words.

· The GDP growth rate is assessed largely on the basis of data collected from the organized sector, which engages less than 10 percent of the population. This growth rate is assumed to be applicable to the unorganized sector as well, for which hardly any worthwhile data is collected.

· Over 90% of the population is employed in the unorganized sector.

· Agriculture sector employs 45% of the workers and contributes only to 15% GDP.

· Adani-Ambani are not creating great wealth but have gained control over a large amount of wealth through connivance of the government. In other words, they have not increased the size of the pie but have got control over a larger portion of the pie.

· The high growth rates of Amazon, Flipkart and other such organizations do not indicate an increase in the size of the market or increased consumption in India, but their increase in the market-share at the expense of others. Thus, if we use the data from such organizations, it will not give the correct picture because their growth is at the expense of others.

· Demonetization, GST and 4-hour notice Covid lockdown adversely affected the unorganized sector from which it could not recover.

· A corollary of the decline of the unorganized sector is the aggravation of unemployment in India. If this sector were growing at anywhere like 6% per annum, the problem would not persist. The organised sector is getting increasingly automated and generates little employment. So, when it grows at the expense of the unorganised sector, it creates unemployment.

Myth of Overtaking Japan

Let us note the facts:

· Japan’s population:12.3 crore.

· Japan’s per capita GDP: $33,960. In rupees = 33960×85.39= 2899,844 or Rs 29 lac per year approximately.

· India’s population: 146 crores.

· India’s per capita GDP: $2,880. In rupees= 2880×85.39=245,923 or Rs 2.5 lac per year approximately.

· India’s population is approximately 12 times that of Japan. Japan’s per capita income is approximately 11.6 times that of India.

Understanding Economic State of India

· In India, the top 1% of the population holds 40.1% of the country’s wealth. This concentration of wealth in the hands of a few is at a six-decade high, highlighting a stark disparity in wealth distribution within India. The average wealth of the top 1% is estimated to be Rs. 54 million.

· The top 100 richest Indians collectively own over $1 trillion in wealth. This represents a significant increase from previous years, fuelled by a strong stock market. Specifically, their combined wealth surpassed the $1 trillion mark for the first time.

· Just 5% of Indians own more than 60% of the country’s wealth.

· The bottom 50% of India’s population possesses only 3% of the wealth.

· From 2012 to 2021, the combined wealth of India’s 100 richest has touched $660 billion (Rs 54.12 lakh crore) – an amount that could fund the entire Union budget for more than 18 months.

· The pandemic period – March 2020 to November 2022, was particularly profitable for the Indian big business with the number of billionaires in India increasing from 102 in 2020 to 166 in 2022. Their wealth surged by 121%, which works out to about Rs 3,608 crore per day in real terms.

· The wealth of the top 10 richest persons in India is estimated at Rs 27.52 lakh crore, an increase of nearly 33% from 2021. One can gauge the enormity of this by the fact that this can finance the ministry of health and family welfare and the ministry of Ayush for more than 30 years, or it can finance India’s education budget for 26 years, or sustain the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for 38 years.

• 90% of Indians earn less than ₹25,000 per month.
• Median income in India is around ₹8,750 per month.

· In India, the bottom 50% of the population earns a very small fraction of the national income, with estimates suggesting they receive only about 15% of the total. Specifically, the bottom 50% earns an average of Rs 71,163 annually, which is a stark contrast to the top 1% who earn Rs 53 lakh annually.

· India’s per capita income is lowest among G-20 nations.

· The UK’s per capita income is 20 times higher than that of India.

· The US per capita income is approximately 30 times higher than that of India.

· In 1990 India’s per capita income was higher than China (In 1990, India’s per person income was $367, while China’s was $317). In 2023 China’s per capita income had risen to approximately 5 times that of India.

· The world’s GDP per capita per year is an average of $12,262. This is 4 times that of India.

· The 2024 GHI ranks India 105th out of 127 countries through ratings in parameters like undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting, and child mortality.

Comments on State of Indian Economy

· India is being run by an illegitimate government which is working for less than the top 10 percent and is fooling the 90 percent.

· Indian masses face a bleak economic future.