Jobless Growth Is A Ticking Bomb, Says Chidambaram 

Congress leader P Chidambaram said the Indian economy is grappling with the “ticking bomb” of jobless growth.

The former finance minister said demonetisation and the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax by the Narendra Modi government have derailed the Indian economy. Speaking at an event in Mumbai, Chidambaram added that the capital markets are not the indicator health of the economy.

The Ideal GST Regime

The Rajya Sabha member also criticised the implementation of GST, saying that the indirect tax regime is flawed because of the multiple tax slabs.

Chidambaram hinted at how the GST structure would be, if the Congress were in power, saying that there will be a government in the future that will rectify the current government's mistakes and ensure that the maximum tax rate is capped at 18 percent. That government will also ensure that 90 percent of the traders and businesses will have to file tax returns only once in six months, and that the number of returns wouldn't depend on the number of states they do business in, he said.

Here are the other highlights from Chidambaram's speech:

Demonetisation

• Demonetisation was not a bold decision, it was taken in ignorance.
• The government proposed the note ban and the Reserve Bank of India gave it's opinion. That’s a violation of the RBI Act.
• There was no agenda meeting at the RBI or a cabinet note before the note ban implementation.
• None of the objectives of demonetisation were fulfilled.

• Small and medium enterprises have been wiped out, and businesses have been shut down in many places.
• Demonetisation is the biggest man made disaster that hit India - worse that tsunami or Mumbai floods.
• The misery was unparalleled where daily workers had no work for over two months.
• The government believes that the entire country is full of thieves and that all the money is black.
• Every single rupee of Rs 15 lakh crore has gone back to the RBI.
• Out of Rs 15 lakh crore only Rs 100 crore was found to be fake by the RBI.
• Demonitisation is like a Diwali cracker once you burst it, you are done.

Also Read: I Would Have Quit If Forced To Implement Note Ban, Says Chidambaram

Economic Slowdown

• In six quarters, India's GDP came down from 9.1 percent to 5.7 percent.
• Every 1 percent decline is Rs 1.5 lakh crore lost from the Indian economy.
• The trend growth is nowhere near 9 percent that BJP promised.

• The economy is at a decline but it can be arrested but right decisions need to be taken.
• Otherwise we are afraid that we are at jobless growth.