India is witnessing a pleasant change in its public discourse, including the media, and the credit for it should go partly to former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. The debate was about whether the GDP data provided by the central government was genuine. The government has proudly announced that the GDP growth in the April-June quarter was 7.8%. On the face of it, this looks impressive and hints at robust economic growth. But before the government could celebrate, Garg, while speaking on TV channels, announced that the figure of 7.8% is misleading. He claimed that if one carefully processes the government’s own data, then the number is much lower. He, in fact, claimed that, based on government data, the real GDP could be zero and the nominal GDP as low as 2.6%. Both numbers were shocking.

Obviously, the government was livid. Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goel called him an unemployed person who joins TV debates to weaken the government. But Garg was unstoppable. While talking to me on SatyaHindi, he said that this was the problem in the country; instead of countering and rubbishing his argument, he was being attacked. He said that he was quoting government data, not something he had invented, and if their data guided him to this particular conclusion, then why should he be faulted? Instead of attacking him, he said, they should take care of their data.

I can understand his pain and anguish.........

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