They had saved their hard-earned money and postponed consumption so as to build up a nest for their old age, he explained. But by saving they lost out when they were young and they are losing out now that they have grown old and depend on the savings.“It’s very difficult for people working in the private sector or retired persons to manage. Prices are going up while income is going down. The rich are becoming richer and the poor and the middle class are becoming poorer,” concurred his companion, refusing to divulge identity. Another morning walker was even more upset. “Nobody is interested in these issues…It seems majority of the people have suddenly become well off…I don’t know how. Even elderly & retired people in WA groups are not bothered about these issues,” he lamented.Growing unemployment is another issue that can no longer be ignored. BJP MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi tweeted, “First, there are no government jobs. Still, if some opportunity comes along then paper is leaked, if exam is taken then there is no result for years, or it is cancelled due to some scam. Over 1.25 crore youngsters are waiting for the railway Group D job result for two years. Same is the case with Army recruitment. Until when should the youth of India keep patience?”While the average wealth of an Indian household is worth Rs. 9,83,010, the World Inequality Report said that the bottom 50% of the country’s population own “almost nothing”, with an average wealth of Rs 66,280. The middle class is also relatively poor, owning 29.5% of the total wealth of the country. The wealthiest 1% population of India alone owns 33% of the country’s total wealth.In the midst of such encircling gloom, the Lok Sabha was informed that 8.81 lakh Indians gave up their citizenship since 2015 and settled abroad. And a parliamentary committee found that out of Rs. 446.72 crore released for the flagship ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ (BBBP) scheme in 2016-2019, 78.91% was spent exclusively on “media advocacy”, a euphemism for advertisements.With fuel and food prices spiralling upwards, the Finance Ministry conceded, “The high rate of inflation in November 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, food products, etc.”Economists said that despite a softening in global prices of crude oil and the government’s recent cut in fuel tax, inflationary pressures are building for households as firms try to pass on rising costs as domestic demand picks up.Wholesale fuel and power prices rose 39.81% on the year versus 37.18% in October, while manufactured product prices rose 11.92%, against 12.04% in the prior month. Wholesale prices of food accelerated at a 6.70% pace in November from a year earlier, versus 3.06% the previous month.The gap between retail and wholesale price-based inflation has widened in recent months as many companies and retailers struggle to absorb the galloping input costs that threaten their bottom lines. The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee left interest rates on hold, saying growth was a priority as it warned of risks from inflation and the new Omicron variant of coronavirus on the economic recovery.(This article was first published in National Herald on Sunday)
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