Election to be fought on economy The nation is in election mode. Political leaders are spewing all sorts of rhetoric, addressing rallies, taking on each other; different calculations are being predicated — the same old things we see before every general election. But there is a welcome shift this time — the major parties are talking more about growth and less about subsidies and freebies. This gives impression that the coming election will be fought on economic policies — something we have hardly seen in the past. GDP figures for the third quarter were released last week, showing a fall in economic growth to 4.7% during the period from 4.8% in the previous quarter. Earlier, the CSO pegged GDP growth at 4.9% for 2013-14, an estimate which now requires the economy to grow at a rate of 5.5% during the current quarter. At this moment, it looks an uphill task. The Q3 report card of the economy shows that most of the growth came from financing, insurance, real estate & business services which grew 12.5%, a torrid growth rate Investment is another major area of concern. Gross fixed capital formation shrank in the December quarter to 27% from 29.4% in the previous quarter, showing the dismal state of investment demand our political leaders really concerned about these economic challenges? Their ongoing campaign rhetoric certainly shows that there is a growing recognition of the fact that the current macroeconomic issues are going to drive the mood of the voters in the coming election. But rhetoric is not enough. What the economy desperately needs — no matter whichever party or alliance comes to power — is a stable government that could live up to its promises on economic recovery and push economic growth in real sense.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 10:18:21 +0000
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