PRE BUDGET MUSSINGS
On the eve of the Budget, the futility is depressing but the ignorance is becoming a tragedy. We boast, or at least the lords who govern us asks us to digest, that we are the 4th largest economy ! Fact: # Nominal per capita income stands at roughly USD 2,818 per annum. In *nominal per capita terms, India is ranked around 144th globally*.. For whom are we 4th largest , exactly? Yes, India has overtaken Japan in total GDP . But when that wealth is divided among 1.4 billion people, reality looks very different. Even on purchasing power parity , we are still only around 125th. These rankings are not academic. They define how people live. Net FDI is now negative Wealth continues to concentrate at the top, with * one percent of the population controlling nearly half the country’s wealth *. Consumption keeps struttering. Lending or credit off-take is a laggard. Sluggish deposts. Unemployment consistantly at al...