The UPA government had “inherited a healthy economy but made it non-performing in 10 years,” the Centre said in its comparative White Paper on the 10 years of the UPA and the decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In an all-out attack on the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due in summer, the Centre accused the UPA government that went out of office in 2014, of “mismanagement and short-sighted handling of the public finances… and undermining the macroeconomic foundations”.

The government abandoned the principles that brought about the economic liberalisation. There was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, and there was widespread corruption, the Centre has said, slamming the Manmohan Singh government on a day he finishes his Rajya Sabha tenure.

“In 2004, when the UPA government began its term, the economy was growing at 8 per cent (with industry and services sector growth above 7 per cent each and a resuscitating agriculture sector growth above 9 per cent in FY04) amidst a benign world economic environment,” read the White Paper tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in parliament this evening.

But instead of taking the reforms further and consolidating the gains, the UPA only took credit for the high growth brought about by the “lagged effects of the reforms of the NDA government and favourable global conditions”.

Having created a huge fiscal deficit, the UPA government borrowed heavily from outside but used the funds in an unproductive manner. Infrastructure was neglected and social sector schemes were laden with unspent funds.

The White Paper said the average annual inflation rate between 2004 and 2014 was around 8.2% and accused the UPA of doing nothing to contain the high inflation.

The government on Thursday presented a white paper that accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance of leaving the economy in “bad shape, nay crisis” after 10 years of the Manmohan Singh government. The document claimed the UPA inherited a “healthy economy” from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government but left the Narendra Modi administration a “non-performing” economy.

The white paper – tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament – comes weeks before a general election the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to win.

In it, the BJP said it faced a “hydra-headed challenge” in fixing the Indian economy and “restoring its fundamentals to sound health”, noting it received one of the world’s more fragile economies. “… now, we are among the ‘top five’ (and) making the third highest contribution to global growth…”

“Then, the world lost confidence in India’s economic potential and dynamism. Now, with our economic stability and growth prospects, we inspire hope in others. Then, we had a scam-riddled 12-day Commonwealth Games. Now, we successfully hosted a far-bigger and year-long G20 Presidency in 2023, showcasing India at its best… (and) providing acceptable solutions to global problems.”

READ | “UPA Made Economy Non-Performing In 10 Years”: Centre’s White Paper

The white paper referred to a number of scams and corruption cases that marked the 10 years of the UPA government, including the 2G and Coalgate scandals, as well as economic concerns like double-digit inflation, the foreign exchange crisis, and a “policy paralysis” that affected investment.

“Then, we had 2G scam. Now, we have extensive coverage of the population under 4G, with the lowest rates and the world’s fastest rollout of 5G in 2023. Then, we had the Coalgate scam. Now, we have built systems for transparent and objective auctions to harness natural resources…”

READ | Full Text Of Government’s White Paper On UPA’s “Economic Mismanagement”

“Then, we had double-digit inflation. Now, inflation has been brought down to (a) little over five per cent. Then, we had a foreign exchange crisis. Now, we have record foreign exchange reserves of over USD 620 billion. Then, we had ‘policy-paralysis’; infrastructure was not a priority. Now, (there is) the virtuous cycle of investment, growth, employment and entrepreneurship, and savings…”

READ | “UPA’s Term Replete With Decision Stasis Examples”: What White Paper Says

“In sum, the progress achieved in the ten years of our government has overcome the malaise and paralysis of the previous ten years of the UPA government. In 2024, confidence and purpose have replaced the diffidence and drift of 2014…” the BJP’s white paper declared.

The white paper was announced by Ms Sitharaman last week, when she presented the interim budget. The combative Finance Minister said “this is the right time” to present the document.

“In 2014, we took over an economy in such a bad state. There was economic paralysis and corruption… we needed a white paper then. But at the time Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) put the people first,” she said in Parliament.

Ms Sitharaman’s announcement was “welcomed” by the Congress’ P Chidambaram, who was Finance Minister in the Manmohan Singh government from 2012 to 2014. “We are not afraid…” he said.

Mr Chidambaram, however, said he had only one condition – the paper must be written by an independent body, one not affiliated with either the BJP or the Congress, or any government agency.

“Then let us see whose performance is better…” he told a news channel.

READ | White Paper Vs Black As BJP, Congress Spar Over 10-Year Performance

Meanwhile, the Congress today hit back with a ‘white paper’ of its own – only they called it a ‘black paper‘. Released by party boss Mallikarjun Kharge, the document flagged increasing unemployment, a drop in the average GDP growth rate, and vacant government posts in the Modi administration.

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Kriti Sanon and Shahid Kapoor are all set to co-star for the first time in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya. The movie has created a lot of excitement and fans are enjoying the released songs. Shahid and Kriti are expected to have great on-screen chemistry, and their dance performances have captivated everyone. Notably, Kriti Sanon’s character in the movie is that of a robot, while Shahid plays a human who falls in love with her.

In an interview with Zoom TV, Kriti was questioned about the idea of dating a robot, and she said that humans are very complex, but the thrill comes from not being able to predict their actions.

Certainly, she is open to dating a human. Nevertheless, it’s quite challenging to come across decent men nowadays and she doesn’t spot any from a distance. Therefore, she is content with being a robot for now!

Kriti responded by saying that the list may vanish if she genuinely falls in love with someone. The actress also expressed her confusion as to why people choose arranged marriages. She mentioned that she has informed her mother that marriage is not obligatory. While she is not against the idea of getting married, she believes that the only reason to do so is if one finds a person they truly want to spend their life with.