By Muslim Mirror Staff.
While thousands of farmers are protesting on Delhi roads demanding farm loan waivers and higher prices for produce, Modi government seems to be busy in manipulating GDP numbers. Farmers from the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are also asking for a guaranteed minimum income for farmers.
This is the third major protest by farmers in less than a year. In March, more than 40,000 marched from far-flung districts in the state of Maharashtra to reach the seat of government in the state capital, Mumbai.The farmers are asking for government support to address the crisis in a sector that employs the majority of the country’s workforce.
“We need freedom from debt. We are not asking for dole, we are not criminals. The farmer is in debt today not because he has messed up but because of the flawed policies of the government,” Kohar who is based in Sonepat, Haryana.
Rather than focussing on the crisis, in the mean time, government is busy revising methods for GDP calculations. The GDP for FY 2016-17 has been revised upwards from earlier estimates of 7-7.5% projected in the mid-year economic review, to 7.6%. Overall growth is expected to be driven largely by the growth in the manufacturing sector. But economists and analysts have publicly expressed doubts about the new numbers, which have been revised based on a new method of calculating GDP. The new method uses FY 2011-12 as the base year instead of FY 2004-05.
The revised calculation also incorporates more comprehensive data on corporate activity, and newer surveys of spending by households and informal businesses. The new method is based on gross value added (GVA) at market price rather than factor costs.