BJP: Despite slow GDP, India still among fastest-growing economies in world

At a time when a lot of questions have been raised over the country's economy, BJP leader Gopal Krishna Agarwal has said the rate of growth of India's GDP has slowed down but still, the country is amongst the fastest growing economies in the world. Speaking to ANI, Agarwal, who is BJP spokesperson for economic affairs, said that the government through Union Budget 2020 plans to boost consumer demand, particularly in agriculture and rural segments.

'The govt will allocate more funds to its social benefit schemes'

"The government will continue its spending on infrastructure and allocate more funds to its social benefit schemes. The government will also push liquidity into rural and agriculture economy and help much more credit line to NBFC and MSME," he said. Agarwal, an economist, hoped that the government can give a roadmap for fiscal consolidation in the budget, and along with inflation targeting growth, there should also be a major consideration for the monetary policy committee. "The government also has to tackle twin risk averseness both from the lenders as well as the borrowers' side," he said.

Ahead of the Budget, the BJP has conducted 10 sectoral and one macro and micro economy stakeholders' dialogue, categorising them into three broadheads -- firstly, sunrise sectors for India, secondly, the potential for higher employment generation and thirdly, the category of macro and micro-economy. "We had invited and connected with about 250 associations, 15/20 organisations in each sector. All these associations have good ground connect and have given very good suggestions. We have prepared reports of all the important issues and suggestions thereof and have sent it to the government," Agarwal said.

'The government will act on these suggestions'

"Surely, the government will act on these suggestions. These suggestions have been categorised into immediate budgetary issues and having long term policy implications," he added. Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious target of expanding India's economy from nearly USD 3 trillion (Rs 205 lakh crore) to USD 5 trillion by 2024, he said the roadmap was ready. Asked how is it possible to meet a target of USD 5 trillion dollar economy in the wake of the present situation of the GDP growth, he claimed that the GDP growth rate has been bottomed out.

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"We will surely see the revival of growth in the coming period. The impact of mega reform such as GST, IBC and other anti-corruption measures will bring a transparent business ecosystem. The government's focus on Ease of Doing Business is also giving desired results, " he said. On the slowdown in the Indian economy, he said the rate of growth of India's GDP has slowed down, but India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

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IMF chief on India's economic slowdown

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva on Friday said growth slowdown in India appears to be temporary and she expects the momentum to improve going ahead. Speaking at the WEF 2020, she also said the world appears a better place in January 2020 compared to what it was when IMF announced its World Economic Outlook in October 2019. "We had a downgrade in one large market India but we believe that's temporary. We expect the momentum to improve further going ahead. There are also some bright spots like Indonesia and Vietnam," she noted.

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(with ANI inputs)