'OPPOSITION DOESN'T HAVE ANY RELIABLE DATA ON JOBLESSNESS'

THIS GOVT, SINCE 2014, HAS CONSTANTLY KEPT INFLATION WITHIN THE RBI RANGE, STATES ARE WELL WITHIN THEIR RIGHTS TO GO TO SUPREME COURT

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NIRMALA Sitharaman has not had an easy time as India's finance minister six months into her stint, the COVID pandemic hit India and the world. Two full financial years thereafter went in keeping the economy out of the negative in the face of a global recessionary crisis.

Sitharaman's hand was at the wheel all during the grim battle that kept India's macro-economy above troubled waters and then into a rebound, with the GDP coming out one of the most creditable among major economies. But the strain of uneven, jobless growth was being felt down the line and has become the prime focus of the Opposition's 2024 election campaign. In an interaction with TNIE Editor Santwana Bhattacharya and Business Editor Dipak Mondal, Sitharaman takes all the hard questions on the economy, responds with her usual panache on the controversies, and discusses the BJP's prospects in southern India. Excerpts:

Economic issues usually do not have much resonance in elections, unless cast in simplified relatable terms. it’s the emotive issues which connect and rouse people to vote. This time, the opposition is focusing on issues like unemployment and inflation. Do you think it will get traction?

I think the opposition is just using those issues to get some talking points. Strictly speaking, this government, since 2014, has constantly kept inflation within the RBi range. Only once or twice, it might have crossed that. So, the data does not support the opposition claims.

The mechanisms are all there for you to see. The supply side problems were addressed by a group of ministers who constantly made sure, in advance, that the commodities we don’t produce were imported -- edible oil is a classic case, also the various pulses. Some agricultural exports were giving great income for the farmer -- whether it was onion, or even rice and barley, wheat and sugar. But when needed, we took the decision to ban exports.