Average Annual Inflation Was In Double Digits: White Paper On UPA Rule

The Modi government today released a white paper on the Indian economy before and after 2014 to highlight the milestones the country has achieved since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in its quest to maintain high economic growth by any means after the global financial crisis of 2008, severely undermined the macroeconomic foundations, the report said. According to economic observers, the economy reeled under profound mismanagement and indifference, the report stated.

"Fundamentally, the decade of the UPA government failed to undertake economic, social, and administrative reforms to strengthen India's long-term economic potential, despite the golden opportunity offered by the years of high growth and investment," the white paper stated.

The Centre said one such foundation that was severely weakened by the UPA government was price stability. Inflation raged between 2009 and 2014 and the common person bore the brunt.

High fiscal deficits for six years between FY09 and FY14 heaped misery on ordinary and poorer households. Over the five-year period from FY10 to FY14, the average annual inflation rate was in double digits. Between FY04 and FY14, average annual inflation in the economy was 8.2 per.

In her interim Budget speech on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said a white paper on the Indian economy before and after 2014 will be brought out.

The report said the banking crisis was one of the most important and infamous legacies of the UPA government.

When the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government took office, the gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio in public sector banks was 16.0 per cent, and when they left office, it was 7.8 per cent.

In September 2013, this ratio, including restructured loans, had climbed to 12.3 per cent largely because of political interference by the UPA government in the commercial lending decisions of public sector banks, the white paper said.