Aakar Patel: ‘Modi shrank India’s workforce by a fifth’ December 31, 2021 https://frontline.thehindu.com/economy/interview-aakar-patel-modi-shrank-india-workforce-by-a-fifth/article37935600.ece Despite all talk of a multi-trillion economy, in 2021 for the first time the per capita GDP of India fell behind that of Bangladesh. Can it be blamed solely on the lockdown? Or did a step like demonetisation send the economy into a freefall in 2016 itself? Reversing decades of progress, 23 crore people fell into poverty in 2020 and 800 million are today dependent on the state giving them six kilos of free grain and dal each month.
Beyond catchphrases, what has been the result “Make in India”, “Digital India”, “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” and “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” at the ground level? At a time when unemployment is at a record high, how has been the government’s handling of a scheme like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act ? The Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna (PMAY) aimed to construct 2 crore houses by 2022. Is the Yojana close to meeting its goal, or like in the case of demonetisation, we would see a change in goalpost?