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Congress says India’s demand crisis result of sustained income stagnation

This is the fundamental reason behind India’s consumption slowdown,” Ramesh argued.

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The Congress on Sunday asserted that India was facing a demand crisis due to sustained income stagnation. It said the double engine of private investment and mass consumption, which drove a decade of continuous GDP growth under the UPA government, has been derailed during the past ten years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, urged the government to adopt the Congress’s proposals, which include increasing MGNREGA wages to a minimum of Rs. 400 per day, ensuring a minimum support price (MSP) for farmers, implementing a loan waiver for farmers, and establishing a monthly income support scheme for women—steps he believes are essential to revive income growth in rural India.

Ramesh emphasised that the deterioration of India’s consumption patterns is becoming increasingly evident each day. He pointed out that last week, several CEOs from India’s corporate sector expressed concerns about a ‘shrinking’ middle class, and recent data from the NABARD’s All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS) 2021-22 corroborates the claim that the demand crisis in India stems from income stagnation.

According to the survey, Ramesh highlighted that the average monthly household income ranges from Rs 12,698 to Rs 13,661 for agricultural households and approximately Rs 11,438 for non-agricultural households. “Assuming an average household size of 4.4, the per capita income in rural areas is estimated at Rs. 2,886 per month—less than Rs 100 a day. Consequently, a significant majority of Indians have very limited funds for discretionary spending beyond basic necessities,” he stated.

“This situation is hardly an isolated case; virtually all evidence leads to the same alarming conclusion: the average Indian can afford to buy less today than they could a decade ago. This is the fundamental reason behind India’s consumption slowdown,” Ramesh argued.

He cited data from the Labour Bureau’s Wage Rate Index, showing that real wages for labourers have stagnated between 2014 and 2023 and have even declined from 2019 to 2024. Furthermore, he referenced the Ministry of Agriculture’s statistics, stating that during Dr Manmohan Singh’s tenure, real wages for agricultural labourers grew by 6.8 per cent annually, whereas, under Modi, these wages have decreased by an annual rate of -1.3 per cent.

Ramesh also referred to the Periodic Labour Force Survey data, indicating that real earnings across all employment types—salaried, casual, and self-employed—have stagnated between 2017 and 2022. He included findings from the Centre for Labour Research and Action, asserting that the real wages of brick kiln workers have either stagnated or declined from 2014 to 2022.

“This decline in consumption is undermining our medium- and long-term economic potential, regardless of what quarterly GDP figures may indicate,” he maintained. He contended that without significant growth in consumption to create a viable market for their products, the private sector would be hesitant to invest in expanding production.

Ramesh pointed out that the government’s own Economic Survey (2024) acknowledged that private sector gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) in machinery, equipment, and intellectual property products has only increased by 35 per cent cumulatively over the four years leading to FY23. He noted a further decline in new project announcements by the private sector, which fell by 21 per cent between FY23 and FY24.

Recently, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the leading industry association, suggested that the government increase MGNREGA wages by 40 per cent, raise payments under the PM-KISAN scheme by one-third, and issue “consumption vouchers” for low-income citizens to use on specific goods and services over a six- to eight-month period.

Ramesh stated that these recommendations align with the proposals of the Indian National Congress outlined in its Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. These include raising MGNREGA wages to a minimum of Rs. 400 per day, ensuring MSP for farmers, providing a loan waiver for farmers, and establishing a monthly income support scheme for women. Ramesh called on the government to embrace these proposals to spur income growth in rural India after years of stagnation.

He reiterated that the dual forces of private investment and mass consumption that fueled the Congress-led UPA’s era of sustained GDP growth have been sidelined in the past ten years under the “non-biological PM.”

He emphasised it is time to restore this balance. Last week, the Congress also accused the government of deliberately undermining Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through “careless policymaking, a disastrous demonetization, a flawed GST rollout, and an unplanned lockdown due to Covid-19,” attributing part of the departure from labour-intensive growth to these actions.

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Jharkhand election: Congress releases manifesto, promises caste survey, 250 units of free electricity

The manifesto focused on seven promises including the 1932 Khatiyan-based domicile policy and implementation of Sarna religious code of the tribals. 

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Jharkhand election: Congress releases manifesto, promises caste survey, 250 units of free electricity

A day before the first phase of assembly election, the Congress released its manifesto for Jharkhand. The manifesto promised caste based survey, 250 units of free electricity every month and filling up of all vacant government posts within a year.

The Congress manifesto was unveiled by the party’s manifesto committee chairman Bandhu Tirkey. The manifesto focused on the seven promises including the 1932 Khatiyan-based domicile policy and implementation of Sarna religious code of the tribals. 

Bandhu Tirkey said that the manifesto promises free electricity up to 250 units to the poor as against 200 units at present. He added that they will fill up all vacant government posts in a year. He further mentioned that the manifesto was formulated keeping in mind the issues being faced by people in the state. He alleged that efforts were made to destabilize the state government.

He continued that there has been no lack of job opportunities, and that the state government has appointed more people than the previous governments. He affirmed that all the job appointments are in the pipeline, and all of these will be completed after the formation of this government again. He asserted that the Manifesto Committee held a Chaupal in every district and interacted with the public. 

Meanwhile, reacting to Congress releasing their manifesto during the silent period, K Ravi Kumar, Chief Election Officer of Jharkhand, said that no-election related matters can be done during the silent period.

He stated that according to the legal provisions, no election-related matters can occur during the silent period, a matter clearly stated in the law, and the Commission has also issued instructions regarding this.

The first phase of assembly election will be held on November 13 for 43 of the total 81 seats of the state. The second phase will be held on November 20. The counting of votes will be held on November 23.

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Jharkhand election: Amit Shah says people who looted money will be hanged upside down

He added that the money the parties have looted from the poor tribals, backward classes and youth of Jharkhand, every penny of it will be recovered from them and deposited in the treasury of Jharkhand.

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Jharkhand election: Amit Shah says people who looted money will be hanged upside down

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday issued a stern warning to the JMM-Congress alliance, asserting that those who looted money in Jharkhand will be hanged upside down.

Addressing an election rally in Dhanbad, the Union HOme Minister said that in Jharkhand crores of rupees have been seized from Congress and JMM leaders, and all this money belongs to the youth, mothers and sisters of Jharia and Dhanbad. Asking the voters to form the BJP government, Amit Shah said that they will straighten out the looters of these crores of rupees by hanging them upside down. 

He added that the money the parties have looted from the poor tribals, backward classes and youth of Jharkhand, every penny of it will be recovered from them and deposited in the treasury of Jharkhand. He also accused Congress stalwart Rahul Gandhi of not fulfilling his election promises.

Amit Shah claimed that Rahul Gandhi makes many announcements which are not fulfilled. Mentioning that Rahul Gandhi’s party President Mallikarjun Kharge is also saying that nothing is going to be fulfilled, the Union MInister said that PM Modi’s guarantee is written in stone and will fulfil every guarantee.

Amit Shah said that on the coming 20th, all the people have to vote and that their votes will decide the future of Jharkhand. He added that one vote will decide whether the people of the state want JMM, which makes itself a millionaire-billionaire, or they want Narendra Modi’s government, which makes poor mothers Lakhpati Didi.

Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah promised that if the BJP wins the Jharkhand assembly election, it will form a panel to identify and drive out infiltrators from the state. Furthermore, he also vowed that foreign infiltrators would not be allowed to usurp land by marrying tribal women.

The Assembly Election in Jharkhand will take place on NOvember 13 and 20, and the results will be declared on November 23.

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PM Modi accuses MVA of corruption, calls them detrimental to Maharashtra’s growth

The Prime Minister asserted that the people of Chandrapur have been demanding rail connectivity for years, but Congress and Aghadi did not let that happen.

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PM Modi accuses MVA of corruption, calls them detrimental to Maharashtra’s growth

Launching a scathing attack on the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused them of being the biggest player of corruption and stalling progress in the state. 

PM Modi was addressing an election rally in Chimur, a town in the Chandrapur district. The Prime Minister further said that the MVA, a coalition of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Party (NCP), and the Congress is detrimental to Maharashtra’s growth.

He added that the people of Chandrapur have been demanding rail connectivity for years, but Congress and Aghadi did not let that happen. He continued that the rapid development in the state is beyond the reach of Aghadi. 

PM Modi further stated that the Opposition have only done a PhD in putting a brake on development works, and Congress is a double PhD in it. He claimed that Aghadi means the biggest players of corruption.

PM Modi also assured the people that the BJP’s poll manifesto will become a Vikas Ki Guarantee (development guarantee) for Maharashtra in the next five years. He said that the NDA government at the Centre along with ruling Mahayuti, means double speed of development.

In the rally, the Prime Minister also slammed the Congress and the Gandhi family, which he claimed has a history of elitism and exclusion. He added that it has always been the mentality of Congress and Gandhi family that it was born to rule the country.

He also alleged that after Independence, Congress had stymied the progress of marginalised communities. He claimed that the grand old party never allowed Dalits, backward classes, and Adivasis to progress.

Referring to an old Congress advertisement from when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, PM Modi argued that it reflected the party’s anti-reservation attitude.

Maharashtra will vote in a single-phase election on November 20 for the 288-seat Assembly. The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

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