India entangled in a devilish web of debt, every citizen owes Rs 1.5 lakh

Sarfaraz Ahmad Qasmi Hyderabad
Contact: 8099695186
The noise of inflation and unemployment in the country is not limited only to the markets, now it has become the smoke rising from every stove, every kitchen and every empty pocket, whatever the government figures say, but the fact is that the life of the common man is becoming more expensive day by day and hopes are becoming cheaper day by day, from soap to vegetables, from rent to cooking oil, everything is going up, except for the purchasing power of the people, even though this fuel and inflation have not been enough. In Kurdi, which the Reserve Bank itself has named as the main villain of the price hike, the price of cooking gas increased by Rs 950 per cylinder during the last year, a temporary discount of Rs 100 was given before the elections, but all dreams of public relief were dashed by an increase of Rs 50 in April. And when fuel is expensive, everything in the market catches fire, but the tragedy here is that the government has created a myth with the claims of price control, reduction in GST and reduction of inflation, which has no existence on earth. The question is, when will the skyrocketing prices stop? And have prices really been controlled as claimed by the Modi government? The picture that has emerged on the country's economic horizon in the current quarter also reveals a deep gulf between the growing economic pressure on the lives of the common man and the government's claims. Leading FMCG companies, India's Unilever, Godrej Consumer Products, Marico, ITC, Tata Consumer Products and Dabur have all complained of falling profit margins, high input costs and the shadow of food inflation in the September quarter. The prices of commodities like fuel, palm oil, coffee, cocoa have shaken the markets and the pace of urban consumption has suffered a major shock. Suresh Narayan, head of Nestlé India, said clearly that the middle class is under severe pressure. Food inflation has blown up household budgets. Growth in the food and beverages sector, which was once in double digits, is now stuck at just 1.5-2 percent. The government claims that the rate of price increase slowed to 5 percent in September. Figures say inflation is at its lowest level since 2017. Fruits, neither milk nor fish, no one has been exempted from this burden of price. Even today, the common man gets confused with the shopkeeper while weighing vegetables in the market, gets shocked at the price of a bag of flour and looks at the gas bill and wonders how he will pay the electricity bill next month. The bitter beauty of numbers is that they never lie, but those who present them often hide the truth. When the government says that inflation is decreasing, it may be referring to a certain index, but for the common man, inflation is hidden in the price of this gas cylinder, this bottle of oil, and this foot of milk and vegetables, which is now slipping from his hand. The concession promises of the government have become happy slogans and are sprinkling salt on the wounded pockets of the people, health, education, housing, soap, oil, shampoo and jewellery, every need is at its peak price, gold and silver, which were traditionally considered as symbols of prosperity, are now only a dream. It makes a mockery of a slogan like Saving Festival, the real success of the economy is not in the GDP rate, it is seen in the flame of the stove, it is not dull today but is buried under the burden of inflation, if FMCG companies are raising prices to save their margins, then the people have run out of margin for their lives, which is definitely worrying.
Congress MP and leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of inflation and vote theft once again before the meeting of the party's working committee. He linked it to unemployment and said that it is the biggest crisis in the history of independent India. In a social media post, Rahul Gandhi said that the biggest problem facing the youth in India is unemployment and it is directly related to vote theft. Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP of playing with the future of the youth, he said that unemployment is at an all-time high, jobs are constantly decreasing and the recruitment process has been marred by paper leaks and corruption. He said that the youth of the country are working hard and dreaming but Modi is only busy with his public relations campaign, celebrity endorsements and profits from Arab leaves. The main characteristic of this government is to destroy the hopes of the youth and disappoint them. Rahul Gandhi said that the situation is changing. The youth of India have understood that the fight is not only for jobs, but against vote theft. As long as elections continue to be stolen, unemployment and corruption will continue to increase. He added that now the youth will tolerate job theft and will not tolerate vote theft. Criticizing Prime Minister Modi's birthday celebrations, the Congress leader said that Modi has completely failed to provide employment to the youth, but he is always busy celebrating his birthday in a dignified manner and enhancing his image, while the youth of the country is suffering from despair and misery, celebrating the Prime Minister's birthday at such a time is the biggest proof of insensitivity. The Insurance Corporation of India has changed rules and regulations for misusing policyholders' money and illegally benefiting industrialist Adani, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that there have been some alarming revelations in the media recently which show that the government has systematically misused the money of LIC and its 30 crore policyholders to benefit Adani. In May, it drafted and pushed a proposal to invest about Rs 34,000 crore of LIC in various Adani Group companies, reportedly to show confidence in the Adani Group and encourage other investors to join. The victim is, who gave him the right to direct the listed company LIC to invest? Isn't this the same case as mobile phone banking? Ramesh elaborated on industrialist Adani that when Gautam Adani and his associates were indicted in the US on September 21, 2024, in just four hours of trading, LIC suffered a huge loss of $920 billion i.e. $78.5 billion, showing the high cost of dumping public capital on favored corporate houses. He is accused of creating a bribery scheme worth Rs 2000 crore to get contracts.
In the case of the purchase of expensive BMW vehicles by the Lokpal, the agency responsible for redressal of corruption in India, the Congress strongly criticized and inquired as to why the Lokpal needed these expensive vehicles. Even Supreme Court judges don't travel in such expensive cars, then why do President Lokpal and 6 members need BMW cars? In recent days, Lokpal has issued a tender to buy 7 BMW cars with a total cost of five crore rupees. On this, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said while talking to the media that Lokpal is no longer a Lokpal but it has become a hobby. Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, India Against Corruption and RSS have spread a false story against the Manmohan Singh government and now the truth of Lokpal. He said that it should be asked what investigations the Lokpal has conducted and which people it has been able to arrest. Keep in mind that the Lokpal has issued a tender for the purchase of 7 expensive BMW cars. Earlier, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram also criticized this move of the Lokpal. P Chidambaram wrote on social media platform X that why should public money be spent to buy these cars? I hope at least one or two members will refuse to buy these cars or have already done so," senior Congress leader Abhishek Sanghvi wrote on X. "This anti-corruption body is now ordering BMWs for its members. It's a sad tragedy. The defenders of integrity are running after luxury regardless of what's legitimate and what's illegitimate," he said. Of these, only 24 investigations have been conducted and 6 cases have been sanctioned.
Today's India stands at the turning point of its economic evolution, behind the ringing slogans, numbers and dreams of self-deception, there is a bitter and poisonous truth hidden and that is the mountain of debt which is increasing day by day. Till the financial year 2013/14, where the country had a debt of only Rs. In the 66 years since independence, the current government has given the burden of two and a half times the amount of debt taken by the previous governments in just a decade. According to the Union Finance Ministry, by August 2025, the total debt had reached Rs 185 lakh crore and by the end of the financial year 2025/26, it will touch Rs 200 lakh crore. Increasing at a faster rate of 10.1 percent.
While the total amount of foreign debt is 736 million US dollars i.e. 6.5 lakh crore rupees, out of which long-term debt is 602 billion and short-term debt is 134.5 billion dollars. It is almost 15 times more than the previous governments. If the post-independence governments borrowed an average of 0.83 lakh crore rupees per year, the speed of the current government is proof that borrowing has not become a trivial matter in national policy. The example of West Bengal is not limited to Delhi, the example of West Bengal is the second chapter of this story, where the state debt was only 1.92 lakh crore in the financial year 2010/11, it has now reached to 7.71 lakh crore rupees, that is, the Mamata government has taken a loan of 5.79 lakh crore rupees in 14 years and has completely chained the state to debt. It is almost 14 times more than the previous governments. If the average annual debt of 3 thousand crore rupees during the time of the left-wing government was a crime for Mamata, then what is the annual debt of more than 41 thousand crore rupees today? Ignorance? Hypocrisy or economic suicide? The situation of the state revenue is that the amount spent on interest and debt repayment is increasing compared to the revenue, in the fiscal year 2024-25, the total revenue of the state was Rs.99,863 crore and debt repayment was Rs.77,228 crore, while in the next year i.e. 2025/26, the income reached to Rs.1,12,543 crore and debt repayment reached to Rs.81,510 crore, this situation clearly shows that the state The government is investing most of its income in the payment of loan interest, this terrible economic weightlessness has kept West Bengal alive only on the part of central grants and taxes, the more sad aspect is that both the central and state governments have hidden the sources and conditions of the loans from the public, it is not known from which country or institution at what interest rate the loan is being taken, and not that the loan money is being spent in which sectors? If the debt was spent on productive sectors, industry, energy, and transportation infrastructure, then perhaps these loans would open the doors of development, but unfortunately, most of the money is wasted in non-productive spending and politics of popularity. It cannot stay, today's India is standing on a critical brink, where the economic figures are waving the flag of artificial development, but in reality the ground is sinking. This is the path at the end of which examples like Sri Lanka are waiting for us. The time has come for politicians, intellectuals and every citizen of the country to talk openly about this vicious circle of debt. If there is still silence, the coming generations will ask only one question: when and why did this nation become a trap of dreams by mortgaging its economy? And started dreaming of Vishuguru, Vaksat Bharat or Amrit Kaal? Then what is the way out of these situations?