WHITE PAPER

The white paper has four main objectives outlined:

1. To enlighten the public about the magnitude and nature of the governance, economic, and fiscal challenges inherited by the government upon assuming office in 2014.
2. To provide insights into the policies and actions undertaken by the government to revitalize the economy since 2014.
3. To foster a broader and more informed discourse on the significance of national interest and fiscal responsibility in governance decisions, prioritizing them over political expediency.
4. To echo the Prime Minister's call, made during last year's Independence Day address, urging a collective commitment to national development by embracing new aspirations, consciousness, and resolutions, amidst the vast array of possibilities and opportunities opening up for the country.

The 58-page white paper is structured into three main sections. Part 1 delves into the macroeconomic landscape during the 10-year tenure of the UPA administration. Part 2 presents an analysis of the current status of various corruption scandals associated with the UPA government. Part 3 outlines the strategies and actions undertaken by the NDA to rejuvenate the economy.

Key assertions in the white paper include:

UPA's Rule (2004-2014)

• The government inherited a robust economy poised for further reforms but allowed it to stagnate over 10 years.
• The administration abandoned economic reform initiatives.
• In the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the government prioritized sustaining high economic growth at any cost, resulting in significant deterioration of macroeconomic fundamentals. Notably, high inflation, a substantial fiscal deficit, and a prevalent prevalence of bad loans in the banking sector hindered economic progress.
• Despite heavy borrowing from the market, the government allocated funds inefficiently, leading to a decline in capital expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure, thereby impeding infrastructure development and exacerbating logistical challenges.
• Health expenditure by Indian households witnessed minimal improvement.
• Policy paralysis hindered defence preparedness, resulting in chronic shortages of combat-ready equipment and ammunition.
• The tenure was marred by policy missteps and scandals, such as opaque auctions of public resources (coal and telecom spectrum) and controversies surrounding retrospective taxation.

• The improvements achieved under the government, utilizing data from sources like the International Monetary Fund demonstrate lower average headline inflation.
• It also showcases the enhanced outcomes of various schemes, such as increased toilet construction and greater financial inclusion through expanded bank account access.

6. Challenges in Comparing India's Economic Performance

• Assessing the performance of an economy spanning two decades, even when consecutive, presents considerable challenges due to the multitude of factors influencing both the economy and its measurement.
• A significant contributing factor to the stark contrast in domestic inflation between the latter years of the UPA and the initial years of the NDA was the fluctuating cost of crude oil. During FY12 to FY14, crude oil prices ranged between $111 and $105 per barrel, before plummeting to $84 in FY15 and further to $46 in FY16.
• Aggregate data suggests that India experienced superior GDP growth and lower fiscal deficits.
• While the government can boast of genuine accomplishments such as the implementation of GST and IBC, the white paper overlooks critical economic shortcomings. Notably, it fails to address pressing issues like unemployment, despite evidence from the government's Periodic Labour Force Survey indicating a 45-year high in unemployment during 2017-18.
• Furthermore, there is no mention of the absence of formal poverty measurement since 2011 or the failure to conduct the decadal Census, the first such lapse since 1881. Surprisingly, the white paper analyzing two decades of the Indian economy lacks even a single chart depicting GDP growth over this period.