Adi Godrej, Chairman of Godrej group recently stated that India did not have an unemployment problem and that the narrative being created was a ‘wrong perception’ peddled by the opposition parties. He said, “I think our measurement of income and employment is still not very good. It is not good at all. So, I don’t think anybody who needs work is not able to get one. So, it is a question of not being able to get what you want.” He also spoke about India’s growth story and said, “We will grow at 10%, in my view, if we did not have restrictions.”
When asked about the ‘increase in purchasing power but declining job opportunity’, Adi Godrej firstly refuted such reports and went on to add, “I think our measurement of income and employment is still not very good. It is not good at all. So, I don’t think anybody who needs work is not able to get one. So, it is a question of not being able to get what you want. In fact, there is a shortage of people. All sorts of people—doctors, nurses, teachers. To my mind, this is a wrong perception. Generally, it is a political perception created by the opposition. Otherwise, you would not be the fastest growing economy in the world.”
Apart from speaking on unemployment issue, Adi Godrej also commented about the improvement in the ease of doing business in India and stated that as per his estimates, the Indian economy is set to become the largest economy in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, overtaking both the US and China. He also noted that in most of Godrej’s business, rural growth was faster than its urban counterpart. He said that this was true for other companies too. Therefore, the present government seems to be successful in bridging the urban-rural divide even as the rural areas are registering higher growth if we go by Godrej’s observations.
Similarly, on the issue of GST, Adi Godrej continued, “Our earlier taxation policies were ridiculous. We had indirect taxation at state level, central level and at the local level. GST has made it much simpler. GST is one of the things, which I would feel is well implemented. GST Council has been formed and they make decisions. If there is something that’s been discovered and needs improvement, they do it quickly. I would say, it has been well implemented.” His remark makes it clear that the negative propaganda about GST implementation is entirely baseless.
Therefore, it is amply clear that the steps taken by the government to fuel economic development have actually worked wonders and the false narrative being peddled by the opposition parties is a desperate attempt to somehow malign the present dispensation. The Modi government has been able to ramp up India’s economic development in an unprecedented manner and this fact is being acknowledged even by leading businesses and entrepreneurs. As far as the unemployment narrative of the opposition is concerned, it has been debunked many times.
