Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 8 presented a ‘white paper’ on the Indian economy in the Lok Sabha.
The decision to present the White Paper was first announced by the government during the interim budget presentation earlier on February 1. It presented a starking comparison report of the economic performance of the Congress-led UPA government with that of the BJP-led NDA government over a span of ten years.
In the white paper, the BJP-led government highlighted the challenges faced by the economy when the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014. It described the situation as a crisis, with fragile economic conditions, poor public finances, economic mismanagement, financial indiscipline, and widespread corruption.
“When we formed the government in 2014, the economy was in a fragile state; public finances were in a bad shape; there was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, and there was widespread corruption. It was a crisis situation” the white paper noted.
Finance Minister Sitharaman emphasized the enormous responsibility it faced to mend the economy and restore governance systems. It noted that refraining from publishing such a white paper earlier was a strategic decision aimed at avoiding a negative narrative that could have shaken confidence among investors and the public.
“Now that we have stabilised the economy and set it on a recovery and growth path, it is necessary to place in the public domain the seemingly insurmountable challenges – left behind as a legacy by the UPA Government,” it said.
The white paper also underscored the government’s commitment to prioritizing the nation’s interests over scoring political points. It emphasized the need to attract domestic and global investments and garner support for essential reforms to stimulate economic growth.
Furthermore, the white paper criticized the UPA government’s handling of the economy, accusing it of failing to foster economic activities and creating hurdles that hindered growth. It alleged that the UPA government’s policies discouraged investment in India, pushing industrialists to invest abroad instead.
