The Congress on Tuesday thanked Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for borrowing suggestions from the party manifesto for 2024 Lok Sabha elections on Employment-linked Incentive (ELI), apprenticeship with an allowance to the apprentice, and on the abolition of the Angel Tax. The party, however, attacked the Government for doing “little to tackle unemployment and inflation”

Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, “I am happy that the Hon’ble Finance Minister had an opportunity to read the Congress’ Manifesto after the LS 2024 elections. She has virtually adopted the ideas underlying our proposals on Employment-linked Incentive (ELI) scheme, the Apprenticeship Scheme with an allowance to the Apprentice, and on the abolition of the Angel Tax.”

Unemployment situation

Chidambaram, however, wished the FM had adopted many more ideas from the Congress’ manifesto.

He said that the response of the government on unemployment, the biggest challenge facing the country, is too little and will have little impact on the grave unemployment situation. The claim that the schemes announced by the FM will benefit 290 lakh persons is highly exaggerated. “The claim that the schemes announced by the FM will benefit 290 lakh persons is highly exaggerated,” Chidambaram remarked.

According to CMIE, the all India unemployment rate is 9.2 per cent, the Congress MP stated.

‘Relief for taxpayers, No relief for poorer sections’

The Congress acknowledged that some consolation has been given to the taxpayers in the 0-20 per cent tax bracket, but he insisted that “no relief at all” was given to the poorer sections of the people, especially those who are non-tax paying wage labourers and casual/daily labourers.

“The government seems to be blissfully ignorant of its own statistics that wages have stagnated in the last six years while inflation is raging. And such workers are not paid a decent minimum wage,” he told reporters.

On Inflation, he stated that the FM dismissed it in ten words in paragraph 3 of her speech despite the issue being the other major challenge. “We deplore the casual attitude of the government. And nothing in the Budget Speech gives us the confidence that the government will seriously tackle the issue of inflation,” former Union Minister said.

Deflator

The Economic Survey (ES), presented in Parliament on Monday, stated that the deflator for manufacturing has been assumed as 1.7 per cent. The deflator(s) assumed by the government have been severely criticised by several knowledgeable Economists, he said. Unless the puzzle of the ‘deflator’ is resolved, Chidambaram said, it is not possible to unquestionably accept the claimed GDP growth rate of 8.2 per cent in 2023-24.

Besides, the GDP growth rate is no answer to the huge challenge of inflation.

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