The trumpets and the pipsqueaks

When elections are round the corner, the tendency on the part of governments and those who wish to seek favours is to engage in a bit of chest-thumping. The hope is that the crowds will begin to applaud the Government's achievements.

- RN Bhaskar

Nowhere is this more evident than in the divergent figures put out by various agencies about India's GDP growth. Here is just a sampling. Obviously enough, the Government's own forecasts-on August 31, 2022 - are the most favourable.

And as might be expected, writers of articles for foreign media join in as well. Consider the article in Financial Times by Chetan Arya of Morgan Stanley Watch the chart which shows the expected GDP growth rates for India. The line takes a steep upward climb. Now compare that with the downscaling of GDP growth numbers for the past five years, and watch how growth rates have either declined or have been subdued. The hype is great.

Unfortunately, without quality education and healthcare India's fortunes are not likely to see any significant improvement. And unless foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic investment pours in, the neighbourhood - is the unemployment picture worst in the unlikely to register any marked improvement.

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