UPA pushing India to brink: Modi on S&P report

PTI | June 12, 2012



Taking on the UPA government over standard and poor's threat to downgrade India's ranking, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the government is pushing the country to the brink.

"Congress-led UPA's toxic combination of poor economic decisions, lack of reforms and political roadblocks is pushing India to the brink," Modi said.

Standard and poor's (S&P) in its report released on Monday 'Will India Be The First BRIC Fallen Angel ?' said: "Slowing GDP growth and political roadblocks to economic policy making could put India at risk of losing its investment grade rating".

"UPA government has given a nine-year low GDP growth in a quarter. With monsoons deficient till now, where are we heading towards as a nation?" Modi twitted on the social networking site Twitter.

Taking a dig at prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Modi went on the tweet, "S&P says division of roles between "powerful" Congress president and "appointed" PM has weakened policy making framework and caused political vacuum".

The S&P report had said: "Moreover, paramount political power rests with the leader of the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, who holds no cabinet position, while the government is led by an unelected prime minister Manmohan Singh, who lacks a political base of his own".

He also mocked the rejection of S&P report by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"UPA's outright rejection of S&P's blunt assessment of India's economic reality does not really come as a surprise," Modi said.

Standard and poor's, had lowered India's rating outlook to 'negative' from 'stable' in April 2012.

In all, 12 of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during April 2012 as compared to April 2011.

The output of basic goods went up by only 2.3 per cent in April 2012, as against 7.1 per cent in April 2011.

However, intermediate goods witnessed a contraction of 1.4 per cent as against a 3.9 per cent growth in April 2011.

The consumer non-durable goods output grew by a faster 5.4 per cent in April 2012, compared to 4.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, the IIP growth figure for the 2011-12 fiscal was revised to 2.8 per cent, over the previous fiscal, from 2.4 per cent announced in May.

Further, the statement said the industry group 'publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media' has shown the highest growth of 52.7 per cent, followed by 29.4 per cent in 'medical, precision & optical instruments, watches and clocks' and 21.4 per cent in 'radio, TV and communication equipment and apparatus'.

On the other hand, the industry group 'electric machinery and apparatus' has shown a negative growth of 49.2 per cent followed by 14.9 per cent in 'office, accounting and computing machinery' and 9.1 per cent in 'Wearing apparel; dressing and dyeing of fur'.

 

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