Growth for only a few, hardship for many, says former MP Prof Rajeev Gowda
NEW DELHI – The Congress has flagged rising inequality, jobless growth and a decline in expenditure on welfare schemes under BJP rule.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) Research Department’s flagship annual report, “Real State of the Economy 2026”, released on Tuesday, warned that inequality in India is rising sharply while welfare spending and social protection are being steadily dismantled under the Narendra Modi government.
Releasing the report, AICC Research Department Chairman and former MP Prof Rajeev Gowda said the government’s economic priorities were “deeply skewed” with corporate profits soaring even as jobs, welfare and data credibility deteriorate. He alleged that the social safety net for the poor, youth, farmers and women was being systematically weakened despite official claims of inclusive growth.
Research and Monitoring In-charge in AICC Communications Department, Amitabh Dubey said growth that benefits only a small elite cannot be called success. He termed rising inequality and shrinking welfare as “clear warning signs of economic mismanagement” and demanded that the government place honest data before the country instead of “manipulated figures”.
The report exposes government claims on growth and employment, arguing that official statistics no longer reflect the lived reality of households. It notes that India’s macroeconomic data credibility has come under question, citing the IMF’s “C” grade for Indian statistics and former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian’s assessment that GDP growth may be overstated by around 2.5 percentage points.
It also flags a 47 per cent divergence in 2024 between GDP estimates based on production and expenditure methods, attributed to flawed deflators.
On external stability, the report points out that the rupee was Asia’s worst-performing currency in 2025, with the decline continuing into 2026. Net foreign direct investment was negative in four out of ten months in 2025, indicating rising capital outflows, with large numbers of high-net-worth individuals moving assets abroad amid falling investor confidence, it noted.
Highlighting employment distress, the report records a reversal in structural transformation between 2017-18 and 2023-24. “Manufacturing employment fell from 12.1 per cent to 11.4 per cent, services from 31.1 per cent to 29.7 per cent, while agriculture employment rose from 44.1 per cent to 46.1 per cent, signalling a return to low-productivity work. Corporate profits grew 22.3 per cent in 2023-24, but job growth was limited to 1.5 per cent,” it said.
Youth unemployment stood at 15 per cent in September 2025 and 18.4 per cent in urban areas, the report said, adding that one in four urban young women seeking work was unemployed. Nearly 40 per cent of salaried workers were found to have no contracts, paid leave or social security, reflecting growing informality, it added.
The report documents a sharp deepening of inequality, with the top 10 per cent earning 58 per cent of national income while the bottom 50 per cent receive only 15 per cent. The top 1 per cent owns 40 per cent of national wealth, compared to just 6.4 per cent for the bottom half. It also notes a shift in the tax burden from corporates to ordinary citizens, with individuals’ share in direct taxes rising from 38.1 per cent in FY14 to 53.4 per cent in FY24.
On welfare, the report says food subsidy budgets have been cut and MGNREGA systematically weakened even before the effective dismantling of the scheme and its replacement with a more restrictive programme. The report revealed that fewer than 2 per cent of households received the guaranteed 100 days of work, while average employment fell to 37 days in FY 2025-26, with technological exclusions leaving many poor households out.
About 12 per cent of the countrymen remain undernourished, 31 per cent of children under five are stunted, and anaemia affects 59.1 per cent of adolescent girls and 52.2 per cent of pregnant women. Pollution-related health risks continue to be neglected, it adds.
In education, the report notes a fall in school enrolment from 25.18 crore to 24.69 crore in two years, with 68 lakh students — including 32 lakh girls — exiting the system in 2024-25. Over 3.5 lakh teacher posts remain vacant, higher education funding has fallen 55 per cent over a decade, and student suicides have risen 65 per cent in ten years.
The most vulnerable sections have been neglected, the report says, pointing to declining allocations for the National Social Assistance Programme. It pointed out that its budget has fallen from Rs 10,547 crore in FY15 to Rs 9,652 crore in FY26, shrinking from about 0.6 per cent to 0.2 per cent of the total Budget.
“Minimum old-age pension remains frozen at Rs 200 per month, while 78 per cent of the elderly receive no pension support, with women disproportionately affected,” it said. The report also exposes the failure of the “Make in India” initiative, highlighting stagnation in manufacturing and persistent challenges faced by MSMEs, and calls for an inclusive, job-creating development model anchored in credible data.
Besides the Congress report, reputed international organisations such as Oxfam, Paris-based World Inequality Lab, etc., also highlighted the growing inequalities in India at a rapid pace since the advent of the Modi regime.
