Spokesperson: Prof. Gourav Vallabh: He said MODINOMICS- in short- Unemployment Rate at 7%, Wholesale Inflation at 13.56%, USD to INR at 74+, Decline in the income of 84% household in 2021 and states are responsible for the management of pandemic.

As per the Oxfam report, the income of 84% of households in the country declined in 2021, but at the same time, the number of Indian billionaires grew from 102 to 142 (39% growth). The richest 98 Indians own the same wealth as the bottom 55.20 Crore Indians. During the first 2 waves of the pandemic (March 2020 to November 2021), the wealth of Indian billionaires increased from Rs. 23.14 lakh crore (USD 313 billion) to Rs. 53.16 lakh crore (USD 719 billion). This growth in the wealth of billionaires (Rs. 30.02 lakh crore) is 86% of the Union Budget of FY 21-22 (Rs. 34.83 lakh crore).

Modi Government’s pro-rich policies of • Continuous Increase in Indirect Taxes (GST) as a share of Central Government (As this is regressive in nature). • Constant increase in additional tax imposed on fuel. It has risen 33% in the first six months of 2020-21 compared to the last year, 79% more than pre-Covid levels. • The lowering of corporate taxes from 30% to 22% resulted in a loss of Rs. 1.5 lakh crore, contributing to India’s fiscal deficit. These trends show that the poor, marginalized, and the middle class paid high taxes despite going through the raging pandemic while the rich made more money. • Abolishing the wealth tax “for the super-rich”. Are responsible for this divide. As a result, more than 4.6 crore Indians are estimated to have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020, nearly half of the global new poor according to the United Nations. While the national minimum wage has remained at 178 rupees a day since 2020, Gautam Adani witnessed his net worth multiply by 8 times in one year; from USD 8.9 billion (Rs.65,860 Crores) in 2020 to USD 50.5 billion (Rs. 3.73 Lakh Crores) in 2021. According to Forbes’s real-time data, as of November 24 2021, Adani’s net worth stands at USD 82.2 billion (Rs. 6.08 Lakh Crores). At the same time, Mukesh Ambani’s net worth doubled in 2021 to USD 85.5 billion (Rs. 6.32 Lakh Crores) from USD 36.8 billion (Rs. 2.72 Lakh Crores) in 2020.

When all this was happening, our healthcare budget saw a 10% decline from RE (revised estimates) of 2020-21. There was a 6% cut in allocation for education, and budgetary allocation for social security schemes declined from 1.5% of the total Union budget to 0.6%.

The report further says that despite the country’s federal structure, the structure of revenue kept the reins of resources in the Centre’s hands. Yet, the pandemic management was left to the states who were not equipped to handle it with its financial or human resources.

Our Demand/Questions 1. Why did the wealth of friends multiply more than 9 times during a pandemic, and on the other hand, 84% of households’ income declined? 2. When corporate taxes were reduced from 30% to 22%, why are such reliefs not available for middle- and lower-income groups? 3. Immediately, the government should reduce petrol and diesel prices by Rs. 25 per ltr to reduce this ever-increasing income divide. 4. GST rates on essential items should be either exempted or rationalized as high rates on these items are regressive. Monday, January 17, 2022