Modi govt hits back at Rahul Gandhi over IMF projections on per capita GDP

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday targeted the Centre after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its recent projections showed Bangladesh catching up with India in terms of per capita income. Sharing a graph showing the projection of per capita gross domestic product, Rahul Gandhi said: “Solid achievement of 6 years of BJP’s hate-filled cultural nationalism: Bangladesh set to overtake India.”The graph shared by Rahul Gandhi shows Bangladesh closing in on India in terms of per capita GDP. As per the graph, India has per capita GDP $1888 while Bangladesh has $1876.5. Sharing the same graph, the Congress party too attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said: “Well done PM Modi, achhe din have finally come – for Bangladesh.”

Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s sarcastic remark over an IMF report that said India’s per capita GDP is set to drop below Bangladesh’s, government sources claimed that the nation’s per capita GDP in 2019 was actually 11 times higher than that of Bangladesh in terms of purchasing power parity. The gap in per capita GDP PPP (purchasing power parity), which is a way to measure per capita GDP by accounting for relative differences between nations, was achieved despite India having an eight times higher population than Bangladesh, sources said. India’s per capita GDP (PPP) in 2020, was estimated by the IMF at $6,284. By comparison, per capita GDP (PPP) of Bangladesh for 2020, was estimated at $5,139, they said. They also pointed out that in the same IMF report India’s GDP was estimated to grow at 8.8 per cent in 2021, compared to Bangladesh’s 4.4 per cent.

Solid achievement of 6 years of BJP’s hate-filled cultural nationalism:

Bangladesh set to overtake India.

👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/waOdsLNUVg

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 14, 2020

What Is GDP Per Capita?

A country's GDP or gross domestic product is calculated by taking into account the monetary worth of a nation's goods and services after a certain period of time, usually one year. It's a measure of economic activity. Then, this amount of wealth is divided among a given country's population to solve for its GDP per capita.

How Does GDP Per Capita Work?

Essentially, GDP per capita acts as a metric for determining a country's economic output per each person living there. Often times, rich nations with smaller populations tend to have higher per capita GDP. Once you do the math, the wealth is spread among fewer people, which raises a country's GDP.