Views That Matter

A recent analysis of official data reveals that workers in India across all types of occupations have been suffering a deadly squeeze on their incomes as inflation adjusted wages have been barely increasing, or even declining for the past several years.
In the Union Budget presented before Parliament on 1 February 2020, a vivid and shocking picture of how the Modi led BJP government has destroyed India’s economy emerges.
This year’s Budget was presented in the backdrop of a widespread Economic Slowdown with even RBI’s GDP estimate for this fiscal year at 5% and the veracity of these numbers are in serious question, unemployment at multi-decade highs and severe agrarian crisis.
India is facing an unprecedented slowdown of the economy with GDP growth slumping to 5% in the June quarter, agriculture growing by only 2% and manufacturing by a mere 0.6%.
The country is in the grips of a severe economic crisis. Economic growth has slumped to just 5% in the April-June quarter of this year, with growth in agriculture, the biggest employer, has been even less, at just 2% while manufacturing sector has grown by a mere 0.6%.
The new India they had hoped for was a democratic, secular country where all people, irrespective of religion, caste and region would live and work together and where economic exploitation would end. The ‘New India’ that RSS and Modi are offering is a nightmare version of that.
The Code on Wages, passed by Lok Sabha, destroys the norms of computing minimum wages, opens the door to longer working hours and dilutes the inspection and penalty system.
Only about 22% of women of working age (defined as 15 years of age or more) were gainfully employed, unemployment among women has doubled and women’s wages/salaries languish at half to two thirds of what men doing similar jobs get.
The central government has finally allowed the release of the report of the 2017-18 Periodic Labour Force Survey. The previous government had blocked its release before elections because the survey showed a massive increase in the unemployment rate, worst in the last 45 years.
In an attempt to get more seats in West Bengal, the BJP led by Prime Minister Modi and his right-hand man Amit Shah, have been vigorously fanning the flames of religious division and animosity during their campaigning in the state.