<p>New Delhi: Claiming that there is “diminished confidence” in India's economic indicators under the Modi government due to “manipulation” of official data to “suit its political agendas”, Congress on Tuesday said “inequality is on the rise” and “welfare is on retreat” in the country.</p><p>Releasing a report a day before the Budget Session of Parliament prepared by its Research Department headed by former Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda, the party said a small sub-section of Indians are cornering the “bulk” of economic gains while the masses “struggle to survive”.</p>.Congress slams government for 'failing' to circulate legislative agenda ahead of Budget session.<p>It said the ruling BJP has chosen to “dismantle” the carefully constructed UPA-era rights-based rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA, when governments are expected to strengthen welfare schemes at a time masses face poor economic prospects.</p><p>Speaking on the 'Inequality On the Rise, Welfare in Retreat -- Real State of the Economy 2026' report, Gowda told a press conference that the numbers on the economy given by the Modi government are “not believable”, as macro economic indicators and people's lived realities “do not align with the claims.</p>. <p>"The IMF gave India's statistics a C grade. 0.5% inflation rate is not the reality of people's lives. Former Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian calculates that GDP figures are at least 2.5% higher than actual reality," he said.</p><p>Emphasising that rising inequality and shrinking welfare are the clearest markers of massive economic mismanagement, Amitabh Dubey, in-charge of research and monitoring in Congress Media Department, said that growth that benefits only a few is “not success but a warning sign”. </p><p>He said fundamentally good policy begins with honest data as he asked the government to place the real numbers before the country and “not manipulate” figures that “mislead” the people.</p><p>According to the report, GDP growth above 7 per cent should normally yield lakhs of new jobs but that has not been the case, with unemployment continuing to be a "major" concern. </p><p>"Most of the job creation has been in the gig economy that is poorly regulated with workers complaining of exploitation. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant number of workers returned to farms in the face of job destruction in urban India. They have chosen to remain there underemployed and underproductive, in the absence of manufacturing jobs," it said.</p><p>Citing the World Inequality Report 2026, it said income inequality in India currently is worse than it was during the British Raj. The Congress report said the taxation system has favoured corporates over people with personal income tax collections overtaking corporate tax revenue.</p><p>"The middle classes have been feeling the pinch of an income squeeze. They have to rely on debt to meet expenditures, as salaries have not grown at a significant pace," it said.</p>
<p>New Delhi: Claiming that there is “diminished confidence” in India's economic indicators under the Modi government due to “manipulation” of official data to “suit its political agendas”, Congress on Tuesday said “inequality is on the rise” and “welfare is on retreat” in the country.</p><p>Releasing a report a day before the Budget Session of Parliament prepared by its Research Department headed by former Rajya Sabha member M V Rajeev Gowda, the party said a small sub-section of Indians are cornering the “bulk” of economic gains while the masses “struggle to survive”.</p>.Congress slams government for 'failing' to circulate legislative agenda ahead of Budget session.<p>It said the ruling BJP has chosen to “dismantle” the carefully constructed UPA-era rights-based rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA, when governments are expected to strengthen welfare schemes at a time masses face poor economic prospects.</p><p>Speaking on the 'Inequality On the Rise, Welfare in Retreat -- Real State of the Economy 2026' report, Gowda told a press conference that the numbers on the economy given by the Modi government are “not believable”, as macro economic indicators and people's lived realities “do not align with the claims.</p>. <p>"The IMF gave India's statistics a C grade. 0.5% inflation rate is not the reality of people's lives. Former Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian calculates that GDP figures are at least 2.5% higher than actual reality," he said.</p><p>Emphasising that rising inequality and shrinking welfare are the clearest markers of massive economic mismanagement, Amitabh Dubey, in-charge of research and monitoring in Congress Media Department, said that growth that benefits only a few is “not success but a warning sign”. </p><p>He said fundamentally good policy begins with honest data as he asked the government to place the real numbers before the country and “not manipulate” figures that “mislead” the people.</p><p>According to the report, GDP growth above 7 per cent should normally yield lakhs of new jobs but that has not been the case, with unemployment continuing to be a "major" concern. </p><p>"Most of the job creation has been in the gig economy that is poorly regulated with workers complaining of exploitation. Post the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant number of workers returned to farms in the face of job destruction in urban India. They have chosen to remain there underemployed and underproductive, in the absence of manufacturing jobs," it said.</p><p>Citing the World Inequality Report 2026, it said income inequality in India currently is worse than it was during the British Raj. The Congress report said the taxation system has favoured corporates over people with personal income tax collections overtaking corporate tax revenue.</p><p>"The middle classes have been feeling the pinch of an income squeeze. They have to rely on debt to meet expenditures, as salaries have not grown at a significant pace," it said.</p>
