Rahul Gandhi slams Centre over RBI's Consumer Confidence Survey, makes dire prediction

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the Centre in the wake of the latest Consumer Confidence Survey released by the Reserve Bank of India. Claiming that people's confidence is at an all-time low, he added that fear and insecurity is at an all-time high. Moreover, the Wayanad Lok Sabha MP predicted more bad news on the economy and the job front in the near future. 

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The Consumer Confidence Survey

The RBI's Consumer Confidence Survey was conducted via telephonic interviews during July 1-12 in 13 major cities amid the COVID-19 crisis. 5342 households across these cities were surveyed for their perceptions and expectations on the general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation and own income and spending. As compared to 63.7 in May, the Current Situation Index plummeted to 53.8 in July, implying a fall in the consumer confidence.

In contrast, the Future Expectations Index showcased optimism in the country's economic recovery for the year ahead. Moreover, most respondents reported a reduction in discretionary spending. At the same time, their response did not indicate an increase in non-essential spending in the coming year. 

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In the last few days, Congress has been at the forefront of questioning the state of the Indian economy. In a recent article, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress office-bearer Praveen Chakravarthy noted that India has been impacted economically due to the COVID-19 crisis. They stressed that the foundation to revive the economy is by injecting confidence in the entire ecosystem. Backing the idea of direct cash assistance to the poor people, the Congress leaders reckoned that this move can help them weather the novel coronavirus crisis.

Moreover, they called upon the Centre to allow institutions such as public sector banks, RBI, bankruptcy boards and securities and insurance regulators to function freely and professionally. The former PM and Chakravarthy observed that this was the foundational step to restore confidence in the financial system. Thereafter, they urged the Union government to borrow money via loan programmes of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Referring to this article on August 4, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team lacked the tools and ability to fix the problem. 

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