The economic scenario in the country is dismal and with an accelerated slowdown and increasing unemployment in the wake of demonetisation, the threat of recession looms large, the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) said on Thursday.
“All the latest data show that the economic slowdown has accelerated after demonetisation and the threat of recession is looming ahead. The GDP growth rate has fallen four quarters in a row,” the CPI-M Politbureau said at the conclusion of its two-day meeting here.
It noted that the estimated GDP growth in the first quarter of the current financial year — April to June — stood at 5.7 per cent, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) showed a growth rate of only 1.8 per cent, exports were stagnant and the non-performing assets of nationalised banks had increased to Rs. 8.26 lakh crore, without adding interest.
“The agrarian distress continues to deepen. Unemployment is soaring across all sectors of the economy and the latest data in the services sector show a contraction of economic activity. The Modi government’s economic policies are proving to be disastrous for the country,” it said.
The Politbureau said it would extend support to and express solidarity with the “Jan Ekta Jan Adhikar Andolan” on September 18, mobilisation of the youth against unemployment on September 28 and a three-day massive sit-in before Parliament by central trade unions and federations from November 9 to 11.
