Survey a bid to present rosy picture amid harsh facts: Congress

Congress on Monday said Economic Survey 2023-24 has tried to present an "all is well" rosy picture for the economy, even as some hard facts have come through.

"India is in its most precarious and difficult economic situation in many years. The Economic Survey might present a cherry-picked view of the economy, but we hope that tomorrow's budget faces up to the country's realities. If the finance ministry is still looking for ideas, we would point them to the Indian National Congress' Nyay Patra-2024. The need of the hour is a Right to Apprenticeship, protections for gig workers and unorganised sector workers, minimum wage hikes to Rs 400 per day, an end to tax terrorism, and an expansion of social protection schemes like Anganwadis," said Congress communication in-charge Jairam Ramesh.

Maintaining that the survey must have been a "difficult document for the non-biological PM's spin doctors to produce", he said: "It does its best to present an 'all is well' rosy picture of the economy. Unfortunately for the PM and for the people of India, the economic situation is so desperate that some harsh facts come through anyway."


Ramesh said food inflation "remains unchecked at nearly 10% per year", hitting the poor and middle class worst, economic recovery after Covid has been deeply unequal as rural India has been left behind. "Sales of 2-wheelers in rural areas, one of the leading indicators of consumer demand and economic growth, are still lower than they were in 2018." He said the regime's "anti-farmer mindset is called out" in the survey.