'How did India become fastest-growing economy?': Experts refute Rahul Gandhi's criticisms

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Experts hit back at senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism that "demonetisation and a flawed GST" killed the Indian economy, by highlighting that if this was the case, then how come India became the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with nominal GDP tripling from 2014-15 to 2024-25.

Rahul Gandhi has also claimed that "Make in India failed, MSMEs were wiped out, farmers crushed and PM Modi has destroyed the future of India’s youth because there are no jobs".

In a point-by-point rebuttal, experts said that nearly 90 per cent of MSMEs report that the GST regime reduced the cost of goods and services, according to a Deloitte Survey. Besides, the formal sector employment reached a record high in May 2025, with a net addition of over 20 lakh EPFO members.

If "Make in India" failed, then how come India’s exports have seen a historic rise, reaching $778.21 billion in 2023-24 (7 per cent increase from $466.22 billion in 2013-14), they asked?

According to the experts, India’s manufacturing PMI is consistently higher than the global average, and surged to a record 59.2 in July, its highest in nearly 17.5 years. Mobile production has increased 5-fold, and India has gone from being a net importer to the world’s second-largest mobile manufacturer. Defence production has nearly tripled, and India has moved from being the second-largest arms importer to being among the top 25 arms exporters.

The statement further said if MSMEs were "wiped out", then how come India became the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, with over 1.75 lakh DPIIT-registered startups?

Informal businesses registered a 13 per cent growth in the last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels to reach 7.34 crores, with average wages increasing by 13 per cent. Besides, khadi and village industries saw sales and production increase over 4-fold since 2014.

It also pointed out that if farmers were "crushed", then how come agricultural exports have more than doubled since 2014? The statement cited World Bank figures that show poverty rates fell to low single digits for the first time since independence, with extreme poverty in rural areas declining from 18.4 per cent in 2011-12 to 2.8 per cent in 2022-23.

NABARD’s July 2025 Rural Economic Conditions and Sentiments Survey revealed record optimism in rural India, with 76.6 per cent of rural households reporting increased consumption during the last year, and 75 per cent of rural households expecting a rise in income next year, the statement added.

However, the Congress backed Rahul Gandhi's claims.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary in charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, said that India's economy is yet to recoup from "the twin shocks of a bizarre demonetisation and a fundamentally flawed GST".

Attacking Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal over his "non-statement" on President Donald Trump and the US tariff issue in both Houses of the Parliament and not addressing the real issues, he said: "The Indian economy has never really recovered from the twin shocks of a bizarre demonetisation and a fundamentally flawed GST. The growth rate of the Indian economy will simply not accelerate with current levels of private corporate investment and current levels of private consumption. The Modi government’s own policies are responsible for this twin deficit."

--IANS

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