Contrary to the Modi government's claim, the economy could shrink by 25 per cent this year

New Delhi, 17 January 2021 Sunday

Arun Kumar, a leading economist in the country, believes that the economy is not recovering faster than the government claims, adding that the sharp decline in GDP during the current financial year has completely outpaced the budget forecast and the budget needs to be revised.

"The country's economic growth is not improving as fast as the government is showing, the situation in the unorganized sector has not improved, and some parts of the service sector are still not emerging," he said. However, the lockdown in April-May produced not only essentials, but also the agricultural sector.

Arun Kumar, a former professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the documents provided by the government for the April-June and July-December quarters also said the figure would improve later, adding that India's fiscal deficit would be higher than last year. .

He also predicted that the state's fiscal deficit would remain high and disinvestment revenue would decline, adding that India's production would not reach the level of 2019 even in the year 2021, perhaps after vaccination, India will reach the level of 2019 production in 2022.