Inflation in RBI’s ‘tolerable’ band, rupee fared well: Sitharaman defends govt on economy

The Opposition has attributed the demand for supplementary grants to the government’s propensity for “grand announcements and flashy statements”. Seeking to counter that, Sitharaman pointed out that the UPA government had also placed two demands for supplementary grants in 2008-09 against the backdrop of the global financial crisis.

Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the informal group of ministers that monitors inflation to keep price-rise in check, she said inflation was in double digits in 2013-14, when the Congress-led UPA II was in power. But the latest data on consumer price index (CPI) “proves inflation has now come down and is now in the tolerable band of RBI”, she said.

She said, “CPI for November 2022 came down to 5.88% year on year, down from 6.77% in October.” She pointed out that the numbers were 19.93% and 18.19%, respectively, in November and October 2013, when UPA was in power, inviting barbs from the Opposition of “selectively” quoting facts.

Sitharaman also held up the wholesale price index-based (WPI) inflation numbers, which touched a 21-month low of 5.85% in November, down from 8.39% in October. The supplementary grants include a component of Rs 16,400 crore for MGNREGA scheme, Sitharaman said and claimed there is now a “very obviously declining demand for jobs in rural areas”.

“In rural areas, the demand for MGNREGA in the recent past has been coming down. MGNREGA is a demand-driven programme, and if demand does not come, should I read it as it is going up,” she asked.

Opposition MPs disputed her claim. As TMC MPs flagged the ongoing dispute over stoppage of MGNREGA funds to West Bengal, Sitharaman responded that the state has not provided “explanations” sought by the Centre yet.

On depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar, which several Opposition MPs spoke about, Sitharaman said, “It is a matter of fact, every report has told you that the Indian rupee against every other currency has only strengthened, and against the dollar, we have performed much better than many other emerging market economies. It is not off the cuff that I keep saying things. It is the truth about the Indian rupee, and that has to be appreciated.”

Between April 1 and November 30 this year, Sitharaman said, the rupee depreciated 6.9% against the US dollar — as against other currencies such as Japanese yen (11.9%), South African rand (15.1%), Chinese renminbi (10.6%), Brazilian real (8.7%), among others.

While she largely refrained from political attacks, Sitharaman hit out at TMC’s Mahua Moira over the latter’s “Pappu” jibe, made on Tuesday. “Actually if only the member looks at her own backyard, she will find Pappu,” she said.

Sitharaman also took on Moitra over her couplet, “Sawaal yeh nahin ki bastiyan kisne jalaayi; sawaal yeh hai ki paagal key haath mein maachis kisne di (the question is not who lit the fire; the question is who handed the matchbox to a crazy person).”