The Modi government often boasts about India becoming the “world’s 4th largest economy” or a “$4 trillion economy.” But this narrative masks a grim reality: rising inequality, declining consumption, jobless growth, and regressive taxation that disproportionately burdens the poor and middle class.
📉 India may not even be the 4th largest economy yet, and the $4 trillion GDP claim is misleading
➤ Alt News Fact-Check
1️⃣ RSS Ideology: Poor as Subjects, Not Citizens
The economic model pushed by BJP isn’t accidental. It stems from the RSS worldview — where the poor are not empowered stakeholders but controllable instruments in service of the ‘nation’.
“The masses are to be disciplined, not empowered.” – M.S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts
This reflects in:
- Surveillance-heavy schemes like Aadhaar-linked rations.
- Erosion of rights-based entitlements like MNREGA, RTI, and food security.
➡ Reference: Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, 1966.
2️⃣ Regressive Taxation: Poor Pay, Rich Gain
Modi’s much-hyped economic management relies heavily on indirect taxes that hurt the poor:
- Excise Duty on Fuel skyrocketed:
- Petrol: ₹9.48/L (2014) → ₹32.90/L (2021)
- Diesel: ₹3.56/L → ₹31.80/L
- GST on essentials: dairy, grains, hospital rooms — even cremation services.
- Corporate Tax slashed from 30% to 22% in 2019, massively benefiting large corporates.
💰 Poor pay more to survive; rich pay less to accumulate.
➡ Sources: Union Budget, RBI Handbook, PRS Legislative Research.
3️⃣ Crony Capitalism: Loan Waivers for the Rich
While poor farmers are jailed or harassed for defaults, the rich walk free:
- ₹14.5 lakh crore in bad loans written off (2014–2023).
- 50 wilful defaulters owe ₹90,000+ crore — including Adani, Anil Ambani-linked firms.
- The electoral bonds scam shows these same corporates funded the BJP disproportionately.
➡ References: RBI Reports, ADR Reports, Supreme Court Electoral Bonds Verdict, 2024
4️⃣ Widening Income Inequality
India has now become one of the most unequal countries:
- Bottom 50% income share: ⬇ 17% (2014) → 13% (2022)
- Middle 40%: ⬇ 46% → 40%
- Top 10%: ⬆ 37% → 57%
- Top 1%: control 22% of national income (highest since 1922)
A few billionaires thrive while the majority survive.
➡ Source: World Inequality Report 2022
5️⃣ Consumption Crash Among the Masses
While the government talks of rising GDP, people are consuming less, not more:
- Rural consumption stagnant or falling.
- Middle class cut back on spending due to inflation.
- Meanwhile, luxury SUVs and high-end real estate have boomed — reflecting elite-centric growth.
➡ Sources: NSSO Household Consumption Survey 2023, CMIE, RBI, SIAM.
6️⃣ Unemployment Crisis: Record Highs
India’s growth is jobless:
- 2017–18: Unemployment at 6.1% — highest in 45 years.
- Youth unemployment: ~23% in urban areas.
- 90%+ of workers remain in informal, insecure jobs.
➡ Sources: PLFS, CMIE
7️⃣ Welfare Erosion: Disguised as Reform
- MNREGA: Funds cut, wage delays normalized.
- Food subsidies replaced with DBT – hurting real-time food access.
- Education & Health: Budgets either stagnant or slashed in real terms.
- Gimmicks like PM CARES replaced institutional frameworks.
➡ Source: Union Budgets, CAG Reports.
🧨 The Stark Irony: 81 Crore Indians Need Free Food
Despite the “4th largest economy” claim, 81 crore Indians depend on free food rations to survive.
“We may be the world’s fourth-largest economy, but for 81 crore Indians, survival depends on charity, not income.”
➤ India Today: The Stark Irony
➡ Also read: The Wire: Deep Divide
🔚 Conclusion: A Rich Man’s Government With a Poor Man’s Bill
The RSS-BJP regime hasn’t just mismanaged the economy — it has reshaped it into a pyramid of inequality, built on the backs of the poor and middle class.
- Taxes shifted downward.
- Welfare dismantled.
- Corporate cronies rewarded.
- Media bought to sell dreams while hunger, joblessness, and despair spread.
India has moved from “sabka saath, sabka vikas” to “sabka exploit, kuch ka vikas.”
📚 Further Reading
- World Inequality Report 2022 — Chancel, Piketty et al.
- Alt News Debunking 4 Trillion GDP Myth
- RBI Handbook of Indian Economy
- NSSO & PLFS Data
- Union Budgets
- Supreme Court Electoral Bonds Judgment
