Economic slowdown is revenge by the rich, says Economist Dr Charan Singh

The economic slowdown in the country is the revenge of the rich, says renowned economist and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Economic Growth Welfare (EGROW) Foundation Dr Charan Singh.

"I have been analysing how the whole phenomenon can be turned around. I have said that this is the revenge by the rich," Singh told while commenting on the second-quarter GDP growth numbers that came out on Friday.

"The rich are also part of the country. They create employment in the orgsed or the unorgsed sector. If they feel neglected or that there is going to be some action initiated against them, they withdraw their initiatives and then it reflects on the growth figures," said Dr Singh.

According to government data, the economic growth slowed to 4.5 per cent in the July to September quarter from 7.1 per cent in the corresponding period of last year.

The slowdown in Q2 FY20 was largely due to a sharp dip in the manufacturing sector and agriculture output, said the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in a statement.

Dr Singh also trained guns at the ministers claiming the economic situation is stable citing shopping volume and airport rush.

"The ministers have said that the airlines, lounges and shopping malls are full or that bonanza schemes are doing well. Is it the accounted money, which is not getting recorded in the formal sector and the GDP," he asked.

"I think the private sector needs to be taken into confidence so that they get the feeling that they are also part of the growth process in the country. The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have made the announcements that they respect the private sector," said he.

The economist said that entrepreneurial skills and activities from the private sector need to be strengthened and the private sector has to become a part of the Indian growth story.

"If we have to accommodate one million people a month joining the workforce, we will need both the public and the private sector," he said.

According to Dr Singh, monetary policy should start taking a more prominent role. "But we also need to take the private sector along with us to achieve higher growth, higher tax collection and much more growth in the formal sector," said he.

EGROW is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary public policy orgsation engaged in independent, high-quality research in the areas of macroeconomic policy, public welfare, national security and diplomacy.

( With inputs from ANI )