Letter to BS: CEA should at least do a reality check on job, GDP numbers

This refers to “The narrative of joblessness at its highest in decades is misinformed” (May 16). It is surprising to see the chief economic advisor (CEA) simply brushing aside the very valid concerns on joblessness and economic growth. Professional bodies such as the National Sample Survey Office and Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, who have a proven expertise in analysing economic data, have highlighted a very grim unemployment situation. Moreover, their conclusions only corroborate a job crisis that is already very apparent across all sectors. The CEA cannot attribute the high unemployment figures to a sampling methodology. As regards economic growth, when we are faced with an IIP growth in negative territory and an export growth at a dismal 0.64 per cent, it is difficult to understand the reason behind the CEA’s optimism. Political parties will always interpret economic data according to their convenience but one would have expected the CEA to have at least done a reality check.

S B Bhalerao, Mumbai

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