India needs radical reset in economic policy-making; Modi government has run out of ideas: Congress

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 21, 2026 12:22 pm IST - New Delhi Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, right, and Congress MP Jairam Ramesh. File picture | Photo Credit: PTI The Congress on Thursday (May 21, 2026) voiced concern over the State of the economy and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "managing elections through Gyanesh" but needs "new Gyan" on the economy. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the sentiment on the Indian economy has taken such a downturn that even the Modi government's professional cheerleaders have begun to give public expression to their concerns. Our statement on the perilous state of the Indian economy amidst the PM's toffee distribution and his pious sermons to the public pic.twitter.com/L4cz7KPUcz "Inflation forecasts are sharply up while growth projections are appreciably down. FDI continues to shrink and supply chains have been so gravely mismanaged that the Prime Minister has now gone on record asking consumers to reduce their consumption," he said. "There is nothing new about these concerns. The Indian National Congress has been voicing them for some time, the most important of which relates to the tepid investment climate," he said in a statement. Referring to the Prime Minister gifting toffees to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Mr. Ramesh said the Prime Minister is busy distributing toffees and engaging in pious pleas to the public. "The ground is slipping beneath the country's feet. We need a radical reset in economic policy-making, but the Modi Government has run out of ideas — other than the usual self-glorification. "The PM is managing elections through Gyanesh but urgently needs new Gyan on the economy," the Congress leader alleged, in a reference to Chief Election Commission Gyanesh Kumar. He said economic growth cannot be accelerated and sustained at higher levels, as indeed it must, without a significant increase in the rate of private investment. Also Read | Country on brink of major economic crisis, says Rahul Gandhi in Rae Bareli "This rate of private investment has not moved ahead because real wages have been stagnating thereby suppressing growth in consumption across income categories. In the absence of consumer demand, there is no incentive for India Inc to invest. "Prevailing atmosphere of fear and business uncertainty in the investment community caused by policy flip-flops, administrative orders, tax notices, raids and threats of raids by tax authorities and investigative agencies," he noted. Mr. Ramesh said continued 'dumping' of imports from China's industrial over-capacity has wrecked demand for local goods across the manufacturing sector. "Growing concentration of ownership, aided by government-enabled takeovers by the PM's closest friends. Modani is the shining example of this cronyism," the Congress leader said. "Little incentive for corporates to invest independently and accept the risk that comes alongside it when profits can be successfully reaped from making a payment to the Modi Government's 'Chanda Lo Dhandha Do' business counter," he alleged. Noting that corporate India's tax rates are at record lows and its earnings are at record highs, he said, stock market valuations appear buoyant. "Yet, investment momentum is conspicuously absent and those who are in a position to invest are relocating and/or investing abroad in increasing numbers. "Grand investment announcements continue to get made but how many of these intentions get converted into actual assets on the ground is open to serious question," the Congress leader said. Indian National Congress / politics / Narendra Modi / economy, business and finance Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to e

India needs radical reset in economic policy-making; Modi government has run out of ideas: Congress

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India needs radical reset in economic policy-making; Modi government has run out of ideas: Congress

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