The Congress party on Saturday released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha Elections, titled Nyay Patra. In the economy section of the manifesto, the party had accused the BJP government of not achieving desired economic growth, and said that it is committed to rapid growth and generation of wealth.
In the Nyay Patra, the Congress party has said that it will double India’s GDP in the next 10 years. It says, “We have set a target of doubling the GDP in the next 10 years.” Doubling GDP in 10 years sounds impressive, the authors of the manifesto must have thought. But the fact is, this target means that Congress is expecting a much slower GDP growth if it comes to power.
The current size of India’s GDP is over $3.7 trillion, and as per all estimates, it will grow by 7%-8% for the next several years. The Modi government has estimated that India’s GDP will reach $7 trillion by 2030. Which means, the GDP will more than double in the next 6 years, but the Congress party is promising to achieve the same feat in 10 years.
The country’s GDP is expected to reach $5 trillion in the next 3 years itself, becoming the 3rd largest economy. India is well set to reach $7 trillion GDP by 2030. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in January this year said that India can aspire to become a $7 trillion economy by 2030. She also added that the Modi government has set a higher goal of becoming a developed country by 2047.
A report titled “The Indian Economy: A Review” written by V Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser to the government, has also said that India can aspire to become a $7 trillion economy by 2030. The finance ministry expects the size of GDP to reach $7.3 trillion by the end of the decade.
It is not that only government of India is targeting $7 trillion economy by 2030, many other organisations have also made similar predictions. James Sullivan, Managing Director, Asia Pacific Equity Research at JPMorgan, said last year that the size of Indian economy will double to $7 trillion by 2030. -S&P Global Ratings also made similar projections, and have said that India will remain the fastest-growing major economy for at least the next three years.
Industry body PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) also said in January this year that India is expected to grow into a $7 trillion economy by the year 2030, establishing itself as the second-largest economy in the Asia-Pacific region and the third-largest globally.
Therefore, while the Indian economy is set to double by 2030, the Congress party in its manifesto targets to achieve this in 10 years. In effect, the party is promising to slow down the growth of economy from its current rate.
The Congress manifesto Nyay Patra has also promises to write off all due amounts in student loans, including interests. The party has promised that the banks will be compensated by the government for writing off student loans.