“Modi with his mismanagement of economy and administration has brought the biggest insult and miseries to Indians with India now ranking 103rd out of 119 countries on the Global Hunger Index 2018. In 2014 India used to rank 55th on GHI. India stood 103rd on the Global Hunger Index along with Nigeria and has been categorized as a country with ‘serious levels of hunger’,”says the author.

According to  Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), there are currently nearly 31 million unemployed Indians looking for jobs. CMIE is a board that tracks business and economic data  of the country.

5 states with highest unemployment rate in descending order are; Tripura 39.1%, Chhattisgarh 22.2%, Haryana 17.6%, Chandigarh 15%, Himachal 14% and all 5 are ruled by the BJP.

5 states with lowest unemployment rates in ascending order are; Telangana 0.4%, Karnataka 0.8%, Tamilnadu 1.9%, Uttarakhand 2.4%, Puducherry 3.5%, except Uttarakhand that is ruled by BJP, rest 4 are ruled by opposition parties.

If there can be a grade below “F” in economy management and general administration Modi deserves to be awarded that grade for ruining Indian economy, general administration and above all peace and harmony among different sections of the Indian society. Modi inherited the economy when it was on an upswing, and oil prices were sliding down.  His predecessor PM Singh steered the economy through the difficult Great Recession that practically bankrupted the world economy in 2008.  Under him India made a commendable comeback averaging a GDP growth rate of 8.2 per cent (2004-014) despite steeply rising crude oil prices. Modi is still below this at 7.2 % average with a few months left of his 5 years term. That too after changing the base year for GDP calculation to 2010-11 from 2004-05 — the benchmark used under PM Singh. If previous bench mark is used for Modi than GDP growth rate will come down to below 5% and if Modi benchmark is used for Singh; than growth rate will be 10.4% under PM Singh!

India has become a laughing stock around the world because Modi is in perpetual election mode blurring rhetoric’s and no actions along with promoting Savarkar/Golwalkar’s understanding of religion to divide India. Truth, facts, reality, data, problems, challenges, genuine issues have become meaningless for Modi. Some of the world-renowned economist has ranked his government probably the worst ever in governance standards for his mindless  demonetization to rob the poor, ill planned GST implementation with over 213 amendments in its first year, negligible to no recoveries by banks under NPA aka Bad Loans that has gone up to USD 135.6 Billion under Modi from USD 27 Billion in 2014, Aadhaar execution and foreign policy etc.

Foreign portfolio investors have withdrawn over USD 7.1 Billion in the first quarter of 2018-19.  Under Modi Rupee that was 63.38 to a 1 USD in 2014 as of Oct 31, 2018 was trading at 74.02 to 1 USD; a whopping 16% devaluation. 52 per cent of India’s Foreign Exchange reserves are short-term foreign currency debt maturing this fiscal year which makes India highly vulnerable, especially when US Fed is raising interest rates to cool down the US economy from overheating and inflation.

Modi with his mismanagement of economy and administration has brought the biggest insult and miseries to Indians with India now ranking 103rd out of 119 countries on the Global Hunger Index 2018. In 2014 India used to rank 55th on GHI. India stood 103rd on the Global Hunger Index along with Nigeria and has been categorized as a country with ‘serious’ levels of hunger.

The World Bank released its first report on Human Capital Index (HCI) on Oct. 18, 2018, which placed India at the 115th position, lower than Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh.  The report ranked 157 economies on parameters like child mortality, health and education. Singapore topped the list after it was highly rated for its universal healthcare system, education exams results and life expectancy figures, followed by South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Finland.

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Recent Oxfam survey showed that that the share of the wealth of the richest 1% persons had increased to 73% this year. According to the survey, India’s poorest saw their wealth rising by one percent during the same period. In 2014 when Modi came to power the share of the 1% richest persons was 49%.  A 25% gain for the wealthy in 4 years of Modi!

On the other hand under Singh, India lifted a miraculous 271 million out of poverty establishing irrevocably that “inclusive growth model”, is the most suitable option for India. Under Modi rule only his Crony Capitalist and Religious Gurus turned Crony Capitalist friends; their net worth  has grown from 100% to 200%. None of these industrialist or Religious Gurus have ever invented anything; they have become rich by getting free access to PSU Banks aka public money, natural resources like oil, gas, minerals including land belonging to Indians and by exploiting or getting changed the trade & commerce policies to their advantage by bribing the politicians across the aisle.

According to a report by Centre for Sustainable Employment of the Azim Premji University; “The current rate of unemployment is the highest seen in India in the last 20 years.” This shortage of jobs is compounded by depressed wages, with 82% of men and 92% of women earning less than Rs 10,000 per month. The report also notes that the growth in GDP hasn’t resulted in a commensurate increase in employment.

A 10% increase in GDP now results in less than 1% increase in employment,” says the study. “Nationally, 67% of households reported monthly earnings of up to Rs 10,000 in 2015. In comparison, the minimum salary recommended by the Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) is Rs 18,000 per month. This suggests that a large majority of Indians are not being paid what may be termed a living wage, and it explains the intense hunger for government jobs,” the report observes. Worryingly, it adds that 90% of industries even in the organized manufacturing sector “pay wages below the CPC minimum. The situation is worse in the unorganized sector”.

According to  Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), there are currently nearly 31 million unemployed Indians looking for jobs. CMIE is a board that tracks business and economic data  of the country.

5 states with highest unemployment rate in descending order are; Tripura 39.1%, Chhattisgarh 22.2%, Haryana 17.6%, Chandigarh 15%, Himachal 14% and all 5 are ruled by the BJP.

5 states with lowest unemployment rates in ascending order are; Telangana 0.4%, Karnataka 0.8%, Tamilnadu 1.9%, Uttarakhand 2.4%, Puducherry 3.5%, except Uttarakhand that is ruled by BJP, rest 4 are ruled by opposition parties.

According to mathematician Anand Kumar, founder of Super 30 educational program for the underprivileged; “In India, there is a huge craving for education, but quality education is not accessible to all of them. There is no dearth of talent in India, but equal opportunities in terms of quality education and modern-day requirements often eluded a large number of students.” But for Modi with dubious educational record of his own, hardly educated ministers and the states ruled by his party BJP; “Education is not on their priority list.” Only Kerala ruled by left front and Delhi ruled by AAP in India had made “Education” a priority under their governance.  Modi can spend almost a USD 1 Billion on 2 statues of Sardar Patel & Shivaji but not on Education! In the name of education he can grant $135 Million, subsidized land and “Institute of Eminence” status to yet to be born Jio Institute of his friend Mukesh Ambani a crony Capitalist that has grown from $19 billion to $43 Billion in net worth under Modi. Funniest part is Ambani group companies have no experience or expertise in the field of Education. Their experience is in how to get easy money/funding and natural wealth like oil wells, spectrum, land, mining rights etc. and defense contracts at terms favoring to them not to the owners the “Indian Public”. Team Modi is spreading lies and misinformation for last 41/2 years by using people’s money through ads in India’s morbid media: They have been shouting from the roof tops in India and the world arena that “India has superseded China as the world’s fastest growing economy. The fact is in 2017 India’s GDP was $2.59 Trillion and China’s $12.24 Trillion that is almost 5 times the Indian GDP. Per Capita GDP for China is $8,827.00 and for India it is $1,940.00 that is almost 1/5 of China. India’s Military spending was $63.9 billion, and China spent $228 billion almost 4 times than India. For India to take over China’s per capita GDP, the Indian economy needs to grow more than 30 percent annually. At the present rate of 6.1% at which Indian economy is growing it will take more than 125 years for India to match China’s success story. (Ashok Swain  professor of Peace & Conflict Research at Uppsala University, Sweden)

India Under Modi is heading for the biggest humanitarian crisis:Modi’s moral police is more concerned with the length of a prominent celebrity women’s skirt or cleavage exposure or cows being transported or beef being consumed or love-Jihad or anti-Romeo squads than the lack of healthcare for the poor, modern education and employment opportunities for the youth or the unabated farmer suicides or rampant unemployment. The worst is cow transporters and beef eaters can be lynched to death by cow vigilantes with impunity from the government. The people’s courts dispensing instant justice without a trial and lynch mobs carry out the execution. Modi was describedby Katrina Lantos-Swett, vice-chair of the influential US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as the “poster child for India’s failure to punish the violent”.  Cow protection has taken higher precedence over the right to life of humans. More precious resources are being directed for unproductive cow sheds, money to feed them, hospitals and ambulances than for the basic health care facilities for poor human beings. They don’t even get transportation for their dead loved ones from the hospitals.

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Earlier, India was compared with modernizing countries like China, but today India is being bracketed with regressive Islamic fundamentalist regimes. India’s international image on being democratic, secular and scientific has been seriously dented. Modi himself gave examples of Karan and Ganesh to support the claim that cosmetic surgery and genetic science existed in India thousands of years ago. The first head transplant that of Lord Ganesh was done in India! An analysis of 198 countries by the Pew Research Center finds India is the fourth-worst country in the world for religious intolerance and violence. Only three countries – Syria, Nigeria and Iraq – are before India in this name-and-shame list, and even Pakistan fares much better than India on this front, being in the tenth position.

According to a very prominent economist, former High Commissioner to UK, journalist, author, human rights activist  and former BJP Federal Minister Arun Shourie; current problems in India reflects “The Gujarat Model.”No Cabinet functions there and no cabinet functions here. The state legislature was reduced to impotence and irrelevance. The Parliament has been reduced to impotence and irrelevance. The judiciary was subordinated there and judiciary has been subordinated here. The Agencies and Police forces were made into Private Forces and Private Armies. That has been done here. It is exactly “The Gujarat Model.”

He further added that Modi invoke God and says it is God who has willed in whatever he is doing citing “Higher Purpose”. If anybody gets hurt, if any institution suffered upon or country is being torn apart; it is done for “Higher Purpose”. Modi has become the Agent of God!

All the above points to that Indian’s have been let down again by its morbid media, economist, intellectuals, religious, business & political leaders across the aisle. Whatever little integrity was left of them under Congress; that has been reduced to Zero rather negative under Modi. Barring a few dozen journalist, intellectuals, economist, religious & political leaders; the millions from the privileged class that could have spoken against the Modi’s atrocious regime either have been bribed to keep quiet rather to praise Modi government and some have chosen to keep quite under the extreme fear created by Modi supporters that any criticism of Modi regime is anti-national.

Modi regime is propagating, encouraging and protecting misguided Hindus to impose their personal Hindutva beliefs on other Hindus as well as on non-Hindus. Some of their beliefs are indefensibly hateful and  insulting, and do not concur with Hinduism.                                             

It is a lesson for Indian voters as well as other voters around the world that they cannot vote for development only if it does not include tolerance, human rights, healthy debates on important issues like education, healthcare, employment, inclusive economics and progressive politics. Unfortunately Indians voted for Modi for his exclusive promise of development in 2014 that even after his 41/2 years of rule is nowhere to be seen rather country is facing a grim reality of biggest humanitarian crisis in the near future because of extreme poverty, massive unemployment, lack of healthcare, intolerance, fewer economic & education opportunities for majority of the population.

 More on  https://www.globalhungerindex.org

 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com

(Compiled by the author with inputs from  eminent scholars, historians & journalists. The author is a New Jersey based social activist. He can be reached at davemakkar@yahoo.com)