
"If development is taking place very fast, why are 80 crore people happy with 5 kg of grain?" Congress' Bhupesh Baghel
Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 25 (ANI): Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday lashed out at state Finance Minister OP Choudhary on his statement on India's improvement as an economy under the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing mediapersons here, Baghel said, 'When we went to the first meeting of Niti Aayog, the Prime Minister had said that we will create a 5 trillion economy. You are seeing whether it has been achieved or not... I want to ask OP Choudhary that if development has taken place very fast, then why are 80 crore people happy with 5 kg of grain, why are they dependent on it?'
This comes after OP Choudhary had mocked the Congress government and stated that India's economy remained at the same spot for 10 years, further stating that the country would become the third-largest economy within Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure.
'Under the Congress government from 2004 to 2014, India's economy was in the 10th spot and remained there for 10 years... As he committed, we will become the third-largest economy within PM Narendra Modi's third tenure...'
NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) BRV Subhramanyam stated that India had overtaken Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy, citing data by the International Monetary Fund.
Addressing a press conference of the 10th NITI Aayog Governing Council Meeting on 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat 2047', Subrahmanyam stated that India's economy has reached the USD 4 trillion mark.
'We are the fourth largest economy as I speak. We are a USD 4 trillion economy as I speak, and this is not my data. This is IMF data. India today is larger than Japan. It's only the United States, China, and Germany which are larger, and if we stick to, you know, what is being planned, what is being thought through, it's a matter of another 2, 2.5 to 3 years; we would become the third largest economy,' said Subrahmanyam.
'It's only the United States, China, and Germany which are larger, and if we stick to what is being planned, what is being thought through, it's a matter of another 2, 2.5 to 3 years; we would become the third largest economy,' Subrahmanyam added.
According to the IMF's April edition of the World Economic Outlook report, the nominal GDP for fiscal 2026 is expected to reach around USD 4,187.017 billion. This is marginally more than the likely GDP of Japan, which is estimated at USD 4,186.431 billion.
India was the fifth largest economy in the world till 2024.The global financial body projects that India will remain the fastest-growing major economy over the next two years. (ANI)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Cong brass ordered new caste survey: K'taka CM
The decision to conduct a caste re-enumeration in Karnataka was taken by the Congress high command and not the state cabinet, chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday, setting a timeline of 60-70 days to complete the exercise. Accepting the earlier report 'in principle', Siddaramaiah said that there were some complaints regarding it as it has been 10 years since the survey was conducted. 'I am following the high command's directive. It is not my or the Cabinet's decision. It is not a decision of the government. It is a decision of the high command. The high command has asked for the re-enumeration and a re-survey to be carried out,' Siddaramaiah said. 'The high command said that some complaints have come because the survey had happened in 2015-16, it has almost been nine-ten years old. So in a short period, in about 60-70 days a re-enumeration will be done. We are not rejecting the entire report (given by the Backward Classes Commission). Principally the report is accepted, only re-enumeration will be done,' Siddaramaiah said. Following a meeting of the Congress leadership on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah said that a fresh caste survey will be conducted to address complaints from several communities who alleged that they were either excluded or underrepresented in the controversial 2015 exercise. The meeting came after weeks of discontent over the findings of the caste survey originally carried out in 2015 at a cost of ₹162 crore during Siddaramaiah's earlier tenure as chief minister. Several ministers, MLAs, and MPs had raised objections, citing that the data did not fully represent the diverse caste composition of the state. Siddaramaiah, a key AHINDA (a Kannada acronym for Alpasankhyataru or minorities, Hindulidavaru or backward classes, and Dalitaru or Dalits) leader, pointed out that a number of stakeholders — including religious leaders, community organisations, and even members of his cabinet — had raised doubts about the comprehensiveness of the original report. Criticism of the survey has intensified in the recent months, particularly from influential community groups. The Vokkaligas and Veerashaiva-Lingayats, Karnataka's two dominant communities, strongly objected to the findings, demanding that the report be scrapped and a fresh survey conducted. Asked if he was disappointed with the party high command's directive for re-enumeration instead of acting on the report under the consideration of the cabinet, he said, 'We will go by the high command's decision. It is not my decision, it is not the decision of the cabinet or our government, it is a decision of the high command. High command has asked for re-enumeration.' Addressing media in Kalaburagi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said re-enumeration is essential as the data available is 10 years old. 'The criterias that were used in the earlier survey will remain, along with that if anything was left out it will be added. But the re-survey is essential because the data available is ten years old and in ten years many have come into OBC, many were added. So considering all these things a fresh survey has to be done, nothing other than that,' he said. the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes' survey report was placed before the cabinet for the first time on April 11. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government (2013-2018) had in 2015 commissioned the survey in the state. The State Backward Classes Commission, under its then chairperson H Kantharaju, was tasked with preparing a caste census report. The survey work was completed in 2018 towards the end of Siddaramaiah's first tenure as Chief Minister, and the report was finalised by Kantharaju's successor K Jayaprakash Hegde in February 2024. Experts said that a fresh survey could help the Congress consolidate OBC votes. 'A caste census alone won't achieve much unless it's used as a tool to mobilise the OBCs, who have never come together as a unified group. In AHINDA, the loose link is the OBCs, Kurubas support the Congress because of Siddaramaiah, not necessarily due to any resentment towards the BJP,' said political analyst A Narayana. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly R Ashoka said the move is an 'embarrassment' and 'defeat' for CM Siddaramaiah, while it is a political win for deputy CM DK Shivakumar. 'We had all opposed this report. The Congress High Command also felt that this report was not right. The High Command has given a slap in the face to Siddaramaiah. Despite the CM's insistence that he would implement the report no matter what, he has now gone back on his words, so it would be appropriate for him to resign. ₹160 crore has been wasted, and they don't have the funds to conduct another survey. They must answer for this,' he said. BJP leader N Ravi Kumar alleged that the Congress high command and its top leader Rahul Gandhi were never in agreement with Siddaramaiah's caste census right from the beginning. 'In fact, Rahul Gandhi had urged the Centre to consider Telangana's example as a model while taking up the caste census. He would have mentioned Karnataka's caste census as the model if he had faith in it,' the BJP MLC argued.


News18
27 minutes ago
- News18
'The Trump Card': US President Offers Residency For 5 Mn Dollars, Waiting List Open
Last Updated: Announcing the big news on Truth Social, Trump wrote that for five million dollars, individuals can gain access to what it calls "The Trump Card". US President Donald Trump's long-anticipated 'Trump Card", which offers foreigners permanent US residency after paying USD 5 million to the government, is now open for business. Announcing the big news on Truth Social, Trump wrote that for five million dollars, individuals can gain access to what it calls 'The Trump Card". The US President described this card as a gateway to the 'greatest country and market anywhere in the world". Trump posted a link to the waiting list in his post, which takes users to a page titled 'Trump Card – Pathway to Citizenship official waitlist". The page invites those interested in the $US5 million ($7.68 million) US citizenship card to enter their name, country of origin, whether they are an individual or a business, and their email address. The card, also known as the 'Golden Card" was first unveiled by Trump in April. Why The Trump Card? Earlier, Donald Trump mentioned that he wants 'productive" people to come to the US and help the country pay off its debt. He also wants those people buying gold cards to create jobs for Americans. 'We want people who are productive people and I will tell you that the people who can pay USD 5 million they're going to create jobs. They're going to spend a lot of money on jobs. They're going to have to pay taxes on that too so they're going to be hiring people, they're going to be bringing people in and companies in," Donald Trump had said. First Published: June 12, 2025, 07:03 IST


India Today
37 minutes ago
- India Today
Trump Card offering US residency for 5 million dollars now open for applicants
US President Donald Trump's long-anticipated "Trump Card," which offers foreigners a pathway to US citizenship in exchange for a USD 5 million payment to the government, is now open for known as the "Gold Card," Trump touted it as "somewhat like a Green Card, but at a higher level of sophistication."Announcing the same on Truth Social today, Trump claimed that for five million dollars, individuals can gain access to what it calls the 'Trump Card.' 'Thousands have been calling and asking how they can sign up to ride a beautiful road in gaining access to the Greatest Country and Market anywhere in the World," he wrote on his Truth Social However, the fine print of Trump's social media post suggests that the Gold Card doesn't guarantee anyone US citizenship but is only a "beautiful road in gaining access to the Greatest Country."Trump has maintained that he would not need Congress's approval as the "Gold Card" does not grant citizenship to the buyers, only a path to it.