5 ways UPA ruined India's economy: This is what Centre's White Paper says

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday tabled the ‘White Paper on the Indian Economy’ in the Lok Sabha.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lays on the Table a copy of the 'White Paper on the Indian Economy' today, in Lok Sabha pic.twitter.com/oYFwUHtSeE

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2024

The government on Wednesday extended the Parliament session by a day to release a ‘white paper’ highlighting the growth of India’s economy from 2014 to 2024. Here are the key takeaways from the White Paper:

• INFLATION: The document says between 2009 to 2014, inflation was raging and the period between Financial Year (FY) 10 to FY14 saw the annual inflation rate reach double digits. Meanwhile, between FY04 and FY14, the average annual inflation in the economy was 8.2 per cent
• BAD DEBTS IN BANKING SYSTEMS: “The banking crisis was one of the most important and infamous legacies of the UPA government,” the White Paper reads. Comparing figures between the NDA and UPA governments, the document says that the Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio in Public Sector banks was at 16 per cent during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government following which it stood at 7.8 per cent. Meanwhile, gross advances by public sector banks were only `6.6 lakh crore in March 2004. In March 2012, it was 39.0 lakh crore
• FOREIGN EXCHANGE CRUNCH: The White Paper accuses the UPA-led government of damaging foreign exchange reserves. It says that between 2011 and 2013, foreign exchange reserves had declined from around $294 billion to $ 256 billion.
• PUBLIC FINANCES: The document alleges that the UPA government’s handling of the infamous financial crisis of 2008 was “much worse than the problem itself.” Regarding Public Finances, for instance, the paper says that between FY09 and FY14 the ratio of India’s Gross Fiscal Deficit (GFD) to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was at least 4.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the revenue deficit between FY08 and FY09 rose by four times
• WASTAGE OF PUBLIC RESOURCES: The White Paper has listed several scams that marked the rule of the UPA government such as the non-transparent auction of public resources, the 2G spectrum scam, the coal gate scam and the Common Wealth Games (CWG) scam