UPA shattered economy, development during its rule: Sunil Sethi

J&K BJP chief spokesperson, Sunil Sethi, lauded the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Union Government in bailing the country out of economic crisis in the last ten years.
Talking to reporters here , today along with former Vice-Chairperson, Balbir Ram Rattan and J&K BJP Media in charge, Dr. Pardeep Mahotra, at party headquarters, Sunil Sethi, shared the highlights of the White Paper on the Indian economy, saying that the UPA Government inherited a healthy economy in 2004 ready for more reforms, but made it non-performing in its 10 years till 2014.
Under the UPA Government, foreign exchange reserves had declined from around USD 294 billion in July 2011 to around USD 256 billion in August 2013, he said.
There was serious neglect of infrastructure creation as in an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court in response to a PIL, the UPA Government stated that out of around 40,000 kilometers of National Highways added, 24,000 kilometers of National Highways were added during the NDA regime from 1997 to 2002, he added.
Sethi said the Reserve Bank’s reports pointed towards excessive revenue expenditure by the UPA Government and poor policy planning and execution resulting in large unspent funds for many social sector schemes during the UPA years.
Health expenditure, defense preparedness etc. was hampered by policy paralysis. The UPA Government was marked by policy misadventures and scams such as 2G scam and Coal Scam. India’s Telecom Sector lost a precious decade due to the 2G scam and policy paralysis, he added.
The UPA Government failed to capitalize on the strong foundational economy and pace of reforms left behind by the Vajpayee Government, he added.
Sethi said “As soon as our Government took over in 2014, we recognized the urgent need to revamp and overhaul systems and processes, to help India advance on the path of development while also bolstering its macroeconomic foundations”.
He said “Right from spearheading the digital revolution to the elimination of open defecation, and from successfully vaccinating the entire eligible population using indigenous vaccines to substantially diversifying exports, we also strengthened the health of the economy and the business sector started yielding positive results in our Government, by improving the investor climate and creating a favourable outlook for the economy”.
Sethi insisted that since the time our Government assumed power in 2014, the Indian economy has undergone many structural reforms.