Indian finance minister lists 'legacies' of scams during UPA reign as she tables White Paper on economy

IndianFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday presented a ‘White Paper’in the Parliamentdescribing the economic conditions of the country during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by Congressfrom 2004 to 2014. According to the document, the UPA government established obstacles that hindered economic activity and failed miserably.

According to the document, the Narendra Modi administration took over a non-performing economy, whereas the UPA inherited a healthy economy from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

One of the most significant and 'notorious legacies' of the UPA government was the financial crisis, according to the White Paper on the Indian Economy, which FM Nirmala Sitharaman placed before the Lok Sabha.

The Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio in Public Sector banks was 16.0% when the Vajpayee-led NDA administration began office and decreased to 7.8% when they left. This ratio, which includes restructured loans, increased to 12.3% in September 2013 mostly as a result of political meddling by the UPA government in public sector banks' choices about commercial lending, stated the white paper.

The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, presented the white paper in theParliament a few weeks prior to the general elections.

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According to the document, the outcome included a pile of bad loans, a significant current account deficit, double-digit inflation for five years that affected many Indians financially, and membership in the Fragile Five group in 2013.

" They not only failed to infuse the economy with vitality, but they also deprived it of it to the point where our businessmen publicly said that they would choose to make investments overseas rather than in India," read the document.

It further states that the economy was developing at8 per cent in 2004, the yearUPA coalition took office against a stable global economic backdrop, with growth in the industry and services sectors exceeding 7 per cent each and the agriculture sector rebounding beyond 9 per cent in FY04.

In an effort to preserve rapid economic development following the 2008 global financial crisis, the UPA government seriously weakened the macroeconomic underpinnings, according to the report. It continues, stating that severe mismanagement and apathy caused the economy to falter.

BJP MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi said, "The country was pushed back 10 years due to financial mismanagement. They are speaking a lot of things today but they ruled for 50 years. Why did they not do anything? So, this has to be told to the Government."

The document also mentioned scams during the UPA government:

2G Telecom scam: According to the CAG's assessment, this resulted in a loss of around <1.76 lakh crore in potential government revenue (based on the rates paid for 3G spectrum). The appellate court is hearing cases related to corruption.

Commonwealth Games: Widespread corruption, poor project management, and financial irregularities in the design and implementation of different games-related projects ruined the occasion.

Coal Block Allocation: An estimated `1.86 lakh crore was lost to the exchequer as a result of the financial scandal involving irregularities and corruption in the government's allotment of coal blocks to private entities for captive usage, according to the CAG31.

Saradha Chit Fund: This was a Ponzi scheme that lured investors in with the promise of large returns while diverting funds for personal use.

(With agencies input)