“As the Government’s own Economic Survey (2024) acknowledged, ‘private sector GFCF (gross fixed capital formation) in machinery and equipment and intellectual property products has grown cumulatively by only 35 per cent in the four years to FY23 – This is not a healthy mix.It is about to get worse, with new project announcements by the private sector falling by 21 per cent between FY23 and FY24,” he said.Very recently, the Confederation of Indian Industry, the premier industry association, has suggested that the Government boost MGNREGA wages by 40 per cent, raise payments under PM-KISAN by one-third, and issue ‘consumption vouchers’ that can be used by lower-income citizens to purchase specific goods and services over a six-to-eight-month period, Ramesh said.This is very much in line with the policies the Indian National Congress had advocated in its Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections – raising MGNREGA wages to a minimum of Rs.400 per day, guaranteeing MSP and a loan waiver for farmers, and a monthly income support scheme for women, he said The Government must accept this proposal to kickstart income growth in rural India after a decade of stagnation, Ramesh said.
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