Pakora economy creating less income: Jairam's swipe on Modi govt

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, October 12: Stating that the proportion of the people taking self-employment is at a record high of 57 per cent against 52 per cent five years ago as per the periodic labour force survey of 2022-23, the Congress has said that the “Modi government has delivered on one promise” that of calling an opening of a pakora shop as a quality employment.

“The proportion of regular wage earners has fallen from 24 per cent to 21 per cent, suggestive of widespread middle and lower income class distress,” said Jairam Ramesh, the head of the communication department of the Congress, in a statement. He stated that “tragically for the country, this is one promise that has been delivered by the Modi government”, while reminding the prime minister’s remark made in 2018 that even opening of a pakora shop is a quality employment.

“This is a reversal of the near doubling of the salaried jobs in the country from 14 per cent (2004-05) to 23 per cent (2017-18) under the UPA government,” stated Ramesh. However, the tenure of the UPA government was from 2004 to 2014 in its two terms, while the NDA came in power at the Centre on 2014. “The share of self-employed workers forced to make pakora is today higher than it was in 2004,” added Ramesh. Further quoting from the findings of the survey report, the Congress leader stated that “the self-employed workers are selling fewer pakoras – the monthly income has fallen by 9.2 per cent over four quarters, from Rs 12700 to Rs 11,600.” He also underlined that the income of the casual workers has fallen by five per cent in the rural areas from Rs 409 to Rs 388. Ramesh also stated that the Indian dream of well-paid salaried jobs ended in 2014.