"3 Films Made 120 Crore In A Day": Ravi Shankar Prasad Says No Economic Slowdown

Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on October 12, claimed that the economy is doing well. In a bizarre comment Prasad argued that the box office performance of three Bollywood movies present a different picture of the economy than claimed by most financial experts.

“I was told that on October 2, which is observed as one of the national holidays, three Hindi movies garnered Rs.120 crore business on that day. Unless the economy is sound in the country how can only three movies collected so much business in a single day?” the minister said.

“We never said that we will give government jobs to everyone. There are some people who have organised against the government and misleading people over unemployment,” Prasad said on October 12, weeks after the economic growth slumped to a five-year low.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund stated that the worldwide economic slowdown is more pronounced this year in India and Brazil. Focusing on the two countries, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that 90 per cent of the world is likely to have slower growth in 2019.

Responding to the IMF report, Prasad said, “The measurement of IMF about India is still incomplete. And do not forget, India was on the 11th position when Manmohan Singh was in power; today it is the fifth largest. We have surpassed even France”.

Prasad’s comments come at a time when India has slipped by 10 positions in the world competitive index report.

Earlier this year, an unreleased report of the periodic labour force survey by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) indicated that employment figure in the country are at a 45-year low, standing at 6.1 per cent in 2017-18. NSSO report stated that the rate of joblessness was this high in 1972-73.

Talking about the report, Prasad said, “I have given you 10 parameters where the economy is performing well, but not a single one is reflected in the (NSSO) report. Hence, I call it a wrong report.”

The infrastructure sector has slowed down and the automobile sector has gone into a meltdown, over the past few months. In September, the passenger vehicle sales fell by 23.7 per cent, compelling the car and auto component makers to cut thousands of jobs and stopping production.

Opposition Lashes Out At Prasad

Reacting to Prasad’s comments, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit out at him for linking the economy’s health with box office collection of three Bollywood films and said that even China measures its economy on parameters like power and credit.

Li Keqiang, China's PM inspired the Keqiang index to measure health of economy with the indicators: rail freight, power consumption & bank credit.

For our very own IT Minister @rsprasad daily film trade turnover is better.

Pra-sad index indeed! https://t.co/POv67Jd6qf

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 12, 2019

Taking a dig at Prasad, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also said that the BJP government lets no opportunity slip to mock the misery of the people.

This BJP govt lets no opportunity slip to mock at the misery of the people. First they create an economic crisis by mismanaging things, then instead of taking remedial measures, continue to be in denial (1/2) https://t.co/wxAjfLdxJP

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) October 12, 2019

Lakhs of workers have lost jobs in just the auto and textile sectors. Investment and Savings levels are at an abysmal low, Unemployment is at its highest in five decades and even biscuit sales are down. No amount of denials, tamashas and fudging of data can hide this truth. (2/2) https://t.co/lQFF6oydKG

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) October 12, 2019

Also Read: Global Economic Slowdown ‘More Pronounced’ In India: International Monetary Fund Chief