Business News›News›Politics›‘Viksit Bharat’ a pipe dream; at current growth rate, will remain so for a long time: P Chidambaram
‘Viksit Bharat’ a pipe dream; at current growth rate, will remain so for a long time: P Chidambaram
PTI
Synopsis
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram criticized the government’s goal of achieving a developed India by 2047, calling it a “pipe dream” at the current growth rate. He also highlighted the need for an 8% growth rate over 15-20 years for this goal to be feasible, citing Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran’s analysis.
ANIHitting out at the government, Senior Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said ‘Viksit Bharat‘ by 2047 is a pipe dream and will remain so for a long time at the current rate of growth. Addressing a press conference on the Union Budget, Chidambaram also cited Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran to press his point.
Asked about the government’s assertions of the goal of making India developed by 2047, Chidambaram said, “It is a pipe dream today and at this rate of growth, it will remain a pipe dream for a long time.”
“Not only I said it, the Chief Economic Advisor has said yesterday that unless we grow at 8 per cent for 15 to 20 years, by 2047, we will not become a developed country. At 6-6.5 per cent, it will take another 15-20 years,” the former finance minister said.
Asserting that the BJP-led Centre has “no new ideas”, Chidambaram said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is walking on the “worn-out path” and not willing to break free as Congress governments had done in 1991 and 2004.
He said the takeaway from the Union Budget 2025-26 is that the ruling BJP is wooing the tax-paying middle-class and the Bihar electorate.
The finance minister is “walking on the worn-out path and not willing to break free as we did in 1991 and 2004”, the Congress leader added.
