If the north-eastern states which are either ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its allies are elated at the sops offered in the party manifesto for Lok Sabha polls, experts feel otherwise.
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According to experts, promises made in the manifesto which was released at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on the economic front including the investment of Rs 100 lakh crore in infrastructure over the next five years and pension to marginal farmers seem over-ambitious.
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The promises if implemented would have a huge impact on the country’s exchequer, they said. The slow down in several economic indicators adds the skepticism towards the actual implementation of the decisions.
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The manifesto said that by 2024, the party, would make capital investment of Rs 100 lakh crore in the infrastructure sector, which has raised eyebrows in many quarters.
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Expressing astonishment over the promised investment amount N R Bhanumurthy, Professor at National Institute of Public Finance and Policy said that it is unrealistic as Rs 100 lakh crore is over 50 per cent of country’s GDP.
“It is very important to know how the proposed number has been generated,” Bhanumurthy told media.
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Former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen said that the political parties do not actually tend to spend the amount of money they promise in manifestos and while presenting a budget they would come out with more pragmatic proposals.
The BJP on Monday reiterated its promise to double farm income by 2022, extend PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers, and give pension for small and marginal farmers.
The ‘Sankalpit Bharat Sashakt Bharat’, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, also pledged an investment of Rs 25 lakh crore to improve productivity in the farm sector.