‘Economy was fragile in 2014… it was crisis situation’: Finance ministry in white paper

NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Thursday presented a White Paper on the Indian economy in the Lok Sabha. It states that when the BJP-led government came to power in 2014, the economy was in a fragile state, public finances were in bad shape, there was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, and there was widespread corruption.

“It was a crisis situation. The responsibility to mend the economy step by step and to put the governance systems in order was enormous. Our government refrained from bringing out a white paper on the poor state of affairs then. That would have given a negative narrative and shaken the confidence of all, including investors. The need of the hour was to give hope to the people, to attract investments, both domestic and global and to build support for the much-needed reforms”, the White Paper says.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lays on the Table a copy of the 'White Paper on the Indian Economy' today, in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/oYFwUHtSeE

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2024

It said the government believed in ‘nation-first’ and not in scoring political points. “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” ,the White Paper said.

“Every challenge of the pre-2014 era was overcome through our economic management and our governance. These have placed the country on a resolute path of sustained high growth. This has been possible through our right policies, true intentions, and appropriate decisions”, the document quoted Sitharaman as stating in this year’s budget speech.

‘White Paper on the Indian Economy’, laid by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha reads, “The UPA government inherited a healthy economy ready for more reforms, but made it non-performing in its ten years. In 2004, when the UPA government began its term, the economy was growing at 8 per cent (with industry and services sector growth above 7 per cent each and a resuscitating agriculture sector growth above 9 per cent in FY04) amidst a benign world economic environment. The Economic Survey of 2003-04 noted, ‘The economy appears to be in a resilient mode in terms of growth, inflation, and balance of payments, a combination that offers large scope for consolidation of the growth momentum with continued macroeconomic stability’.”

The budget session started with the address by President Droupadi Murmu to the joint sitting of two Houses on January 31. This is the last session of the current Lok Sabha before the general elections expected to be held in April-May this year.

The government had announced in the union budget presented on February 1 that it will come out with ‘White Paper’ to compare the economic performance of 10 years of the Congress-led UPA government with that of 10 years of the BJP-led NDA government.

Tabling the interim budget 2024-25 in Parliament, Sitharaman said that the Modi government, which assumed office in 2014, overcame crisis of those years and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path.

“In 2014, when our government assumed the reins, the responsibility to mend the economy step by step and to put the governance systems in order was enormous. The need of the hour was to give hope to the people, to attract investments, and to build support for the much-needed reforms. The government did that successfully following our strong belief of ‘nation-first’,” she said.

“The crisis of those years has been overcome, and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path with all-round development,” she added.

“The exemplary track record of governance, development and performance, effective delivery, and ‘Jan Kalyan’ has given the government trust, confidence and blessings of the people to realize, whatever it takes, the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ with good intentions, true dedication and hard work in the coming years and decades,” she said.

The budget session, which is the last Parliament session before Lok Sabha polls expected in April-May this year, was slated to conclude on February 9 and has been extended by a day. (ANI)