December 14, 2021
Md Nadimul Haque makes Zero Hour mention on the impact of inflation on the poor and middle-class
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thank you, Sir.
The recent World Inequality Report 2021 has flagged India as a poor and a very unequal country with an economic downfall engendered by the pandemic, making matters worse. India’s middle class has shrunk to frightening extent during the pandemic years. According to the study by Pew Research Centre, the figure of the shrinkage is approximately 32 million currently, accounting for 60 per cent of the global drop. The inflation resulting from this economic decline has disproportionately and adversely affected the poor and the middle class. The prices of essential food items like tomatoes, milk and edible oil have been going through the roof throughout the last two years. The prices of transport fuels and cooking gas have been exorbitantly high due to the government’s unjustified taxation policy. In spite of a fall in global crude oil prices, India’s excise duties on petrol and diesel were increased. A recent CRISIL study has shown that food and fuel prices affect the bottom 20 per cent of the population the hardest. An estimated 10 million migrant workers, who had come to cities looking for greener pastures have now gone back to farming. The inflation figure has risen from 4.48 per cent in October to 4.91 per cent in November.
In conclusion, I want to say that these figures show that instead of taking an emphatic view of the poor and the middle class, the Government has continued with its neo-liberal economic policies that have been ruining lives and livelihood alike. It is high time the Government realises its failings and undertakes a much-needed course correction. If not, the electorate will.
