Where the UPA’s numbers really dominate the NDA’s are in agricultural growth, however, which impacts the largest number of Indians. The NDA grew agriculture at 2.2% a year; the UPA at 3.3% a year. And, under UPA-II, the rate again accelerated – averaging 3.6% a year – two-thirds faster than the NDA managed.

The impact of higher agricultural growth and, presumably, other state measures also tell in major economic indicators of individual well-being. Private consumption grew 40% faster a year under the UPA than under the NDA. Here’s another, broader, way of looking at the same fact. Private disposable income – the amount of money left with individuals after they’ve paid taxes and so on, to do with as they please – grew, in nominal terms, 8.3% a year under the NDA. Under the UPA, it grew – wait for it – 20% a year in nominal terms. Of course, that needs inflation to be taken into account, right? Even then, if inflation was 5% under the NDA, and 7% under the UPA, that still means the NDA delivered real disposable income growth of 3% a year, and the UPA of 13% a year. A ten percentage-point difference. Nor has this trend slowed. Read More

Jyothi Shankaran

    Jyothi’s last role was as Senior Editor with the business news channel Bloomberg TV India. He also worked as News Editor at business-standard.com, the online version of the business newspaper Business Standard. Jyothi is a chemical engineer from the Regional Engineering College, Srinagar.