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Fact Check: Has India improved in Global EoDB & Competitiveness Index rankings in the last 4 years?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 1, 2018
One of the infographics on the ’48 Months’ portal‘ of the government highlights improvements India has made in its ranking in two prominent global indices on business environment. Rankings such as these are meant to give an indication of how conducive a country is for businesses, and thus how favorable it is for investment. It has to be noted that different indices may use different criteria. Improvement in these ranks is meant to indicate that over time, the country has become more favorable for investment and this should encourage foreign investors.
The Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) ranks are released by the World Bank annually and measures aspects of business regulation affecting domestic small and medium-size firms  and located in the largest business city of each economy. In addition, for 11 economies a second city is covered. Even in India’s case, both Mumbai & Delhi are covered for the 2018 rankings.
The Global Competitiveness Index is a similar index released annually by the World Economic Forum that defines competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.
This infographic claims that there has been a significant improvement in India’s rankings on both these indices during the time of the NDA government. Here is a fact check of these claims.
India’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index for the past 10 years is the following.
Between 2014-15 and 2016-17, which is the period that the claim looks at, there has been a large scale jump in India’s rank from 71 to 39. Thus the claim made about India moving up in the Global Competitiveness Ranks is true. But it does not present the complete picture. For one, in the year 2017-2018 the rank has fallen to 40. The infographic does not consider 2017-18 ranking though it does the same for the EoDB. Also, if we look at the rankings for the entire decade, they have been around 45 to 50 making the improvement from 71 to 39 seems less significant, because 2014-15 was an odd year when the rank fell dramatically. However, it has to be acknowledged that India’s rank saw significant improvement between 2014-15 and 2016-17.
Though the claim that India’s ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index has significantly improved between 2014-15 and 2016-17 is it does not consider 2017-18 ranking and also does not consider India’s ranking in the last decade.
India’s rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index  (EoDB) of the World Bank for the last decade is given in the table below.
As claimed in the infographic, India’s rank improved significantly from 142 in 2015 to 100 in 2018, a jump of 42 ranks.  Though there was no significant improvement in India’s rank in both 2016 & 2017, the year 2018 saw an improvement of 30 ranks. Factly had also reported earlier that India’s jump of 30 ranks is the best ever in the EoDB rankings.
The claim that India’s rank in the EoDB has significantly improved between 2015 & 2018 is
It is important to note is that the criteria for these indices is not fixed. The methodology for calculating these ranks often change, and that can result in movement up and down without significant change in the business environment. For the 2018 EoDB rankings, there were significant changes to the methodology. This year in particular, there was a lot of criticism around these changes and claims that there were political motivations behind the changes. The World Bank’s Chief Economist at the time Paul Romer, was alleged to have told Wall Street Journal in an interview that the changes to methodology were targeting left leaning countries such as Chile. This created quite a storm resulting in the world bank commission an external audit on the integrity of these rankings. The external audit concluded that there was no manipulation in the rankings. The report went onto say that frequent methodology changes reduce the value of the indicators to researchers, policy makers & the media. It recommended the world bank to minimize methodology changes except to fix confirmed problems with existing methodology
Thus, although the claims made are true, they do not paint the whole picture. The starting point for calculation is conveniently a year in which the ranks were abnormally low, and there is no mention of that fact. Looking at the trend of previous years (of the previous government) along with an understanding of the methodology changes would give a better understanding of the actual change in India’s ranking over the years.

created: August 1, 2018


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Fact Check: Has MSP for Wheat doubled during the UPA?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 29, 2018
A section on the Congress’s website talks about achievements during the UPA. One such claim relates to substantial increase in MSP during the UPA. Here is a fact check.
One of the claims made by the Indian National Congress on its website is regarding substantial increase in Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Wheat & Paddy during the UPA. Here is a fact check of this claim.
What is MSP?
The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) since 1985, earlier named as Agricultural Prices Commission) came into existence in January 1965. The 2017-18 annual report of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare states that, ‘CACP was set up with a view to evolve a balanced and integrated price structure,  and is mandated to advise on the price policy (MSP) of 23 crops. These include seven cereal crops (paddy, wheat, jowar, bajra, maize, ragi and barley), five pulse crops (gram, tur, moong, urad and lentil), seven oilseeds (groundnut, sunflower seed, soybean, rapeseed-mustard, safflower, nigerseed and sesamum), copra (dried coconut), cotton, raw jute and sugarcane.’
In order to understand the MSP better, it is important to know the determinants of it. The same annual report also states that, ‘Cost of production (CoP) is one of the important factors in the determination of MSP of mandated crops. Besides cost, the Commission considers other important factors such as demand and supply, price trends in the domestic and international markets, intercrop price parity and terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the likely impact of MSPs on consumers, in addition to ensuring rational utilization of land, water and other production resources.’ Thus, pricing policy i.e. the exercise of MSP is not based on cost only though cost is an important determinant of MSP. To understand more about what MSP is and its constituents, watch Factly’s explainer video on MSP.
Has MSP increased substantially?
Another claim made on the Indian National Congress’ website is, ‘The Congress-led UPA believes that the nation can’t progress unless the farmer gets a fair price for his produce. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Wheat has been more than doubled, from Rs 640 per quintal in 2004-05 to Rs 1,285 in 2011-12. Similarly, the MSP for Paddy has been increased from Rs 560 in 2003-04 to Rs 1250 per quintal in 2011-12.’
The Directorate of Economics and Statistics  & Reserve Bank of India’s handbook of statistics have data related to the MSP of various crops over the years. The Open Government Data (OGD) platform of the government also has the MSP for the years between 2003 and 2012.
It can be seen from the data that the MSP for wheat did increase from Rs. 640 per quintal in 2004-05 to Rs.1285 per quintal in 2011-12. By the end of UPA’s second term in 2013-14, the MSP for wheat was Rs. 1400 per quintal. During the current government, the MSP for wheat increased from Rs.1450 per quintal in 2014-15 to Rs. 1840 per quintal in 2018-19.
In the case of paddy, MSP in 2003-04 was Rs. 550 and it increased to Rs. 1080 in 2011-12 where as the numbers in the claim correspond to 2004-05 & 2012-13. The MSP for Paddy increased to Rs. 1310 per quintal by the end of UPA’s term. In the of the current government, the MSP for paddy increased from Rs. 1360 per quintal in 2014-15 to Rs. 1750 per quintal in 2018-19. It has to be noted that these prices correspond to Paddy (Common) and not grade ‘A’ paddy.If the percentage increase in MSP during various governments is considered, MSP for both paddy (common) & wheat increased by more than 60% during UPA’s first term. During UPA’s second term, the MSP for paddy increased by only 25% and by 27% in the case of wheat. The current NDA government increased the MSP for paddy by close to 29% and by 27% in the case of wheat.
Claim: The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Wheat has been more than doubled, from Rs 640 per quintal in 2004-05 to Rs 1,285 in 2011-12. Similarly, the MSP for Paddy has been increased from Rs 560 in 2003-04 to Rs 1250 per quintal in 2011-12.
Fact: While these numbers are TRUE, it has to be noted that MSP increased by the greatest percentage during UPA 1. The current NDA government did better than UPA 2 in the case of MSP for paddy while it increased the MSP of wheat by more or less the same percent as UPA 2.
Featured Image: Rice Paddy Field by Mikko Koponen[Creative Commons 2.0]
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

source: news-factly

created: November 29, 2018

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Fact Check: Has Rural Road construction reached a record high in the last four years?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 26, 2018
The BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal that makes four claims about the Rural Road construction or the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). This article is a fact check of those claims.
The BJP government published an infographic on the 48-months portal that makes four claims about the Rural Road construction or the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). This article is a fact check of those claims.
What is the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana?
According to an answer provided in Lok Sabha, ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a one-time special intervention to provide rural connectivity, by way of a single all weather road, to the eligible unconnected habitations in the core network though rural roads is a State subject.’
As per the annual report of the Ministry of Rural Development (2017-18) , ‘a major thrust to the development of rural roads was accorded at the beginning of the fifth five year plan in 1974, when it was made a part of the minimum needs programme. In 1996, this was merged with the basic minimum services (BMS) programmes. The PMGSY was launched in the year 2000 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.’
What length of rural roads have been built in the last 4 years?
The first claim is that almost 1.69 lakh kms of rural roads were built in the last 4 years. According to the annual report of the Ministry of Rural Development (2017-18), a total of 3,38,024 kms of roads have been constructed to connect 1,30,974 habitations that were previously unconnected by all-weather roads since the inception of the PMGSY.  Further, upgradation work of 1,75,903 kms and 12,984 kms has been taken up in phase I and phase II of PMGSY respectively.
Physical targets under this scheme were laid down since the year 2005-06. As per data provided in the annual report of the Ministry of Rural Development (2017-18), a total of 1,47,237 kms of rural roads were constructed during the last four years of UPA-1 (2005-06 to 2008-09). During UPA-2, a total of 1,85,698 kms of roads were constructed under PMGSY in the five-year period between 2009-10 to 2013-14. On the other hand, during the first four-year period of the current government, a total of 1,68,975 kms was constructed between 2014-15 & 2017-18.
Claim: 1.69 lakh kms of rural roads built in the last 4 years.
Fact:  During the first four-year period of the current government, a total of 1,68,975 kms was constructed between 2014-15 & 2017-18. Hence the claim is TRUE.  However, this is in line with the achievement of rural roads construction during the UPA. A total of 1,47,237 kms of rural roads were constructed during the last four years of UPA-1 (2005-06 to 2008-09) and during UPA-2, a total of 1,85,698 kms of roads were constructed under PMGSY in the five-year period between 2009-10 to 2013-14.
Has the speed of rural road construction increased?
The second claim is that average speed of rural road construction increased from 69km/day in 2013-14 to 134 km/day in 2017-18. The website of the Ministry of Rural Development shows that the average road length constructed per day was 69 km in 2013-14 and has increased to 130 km in 2016-17.  But this presents only half the picture.
Data from the annual reports of the ministry, the PMGSY briefing book and the answer to a question in the Lok Sabha reveals that the highest ever average speed of rural road construction was achieved in 2009-10 followed by 2008-09, both during the UPA.  It is quite clear that average speed of construction was higher than 134 km/day in both 2008-09 and 2009-10. Hence this is not the first time that such speed was achieved.
Claim: Average speed of rural road construction increased from 69kms/day in 2013-14 to 134kms/day in 2017-18.
Fact: The average road length constructed per day was 69km in 2013-14 and has increased to 134 km in 2017-18. Hence, the claim is TRUE. However, this is not a record high in the speed of rural road construction and a greater speed was achieved by the UPA government in both 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Has rural road connectivity increased and by how much?
The third claim is that rural road connectivity increased from 56% in 2014 to 82% villages. The impact assessment report of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) states that ‘PMGSY was launched in December 2000 as a special intervention of the Government of India with the broad objective of ensuring sustainable poverty reduction. The scheme aims to provide good quality all-weather single connectivity road to every eligible habitation. Rural roads are a state subject under the Constitution and as such are the basic responsibility of the states. However, under the PMGSY, the construction of good quality and well-engineered roads are fully funded by the Government of India. Maintenance of these roads is the responsibility of the states. The year 2013 saw the launch of PMGSY-II with the objectives of consolidating the existing rural road network and upgrading existing rural roads that provide connectivity to rural growth centres. PMGSY-II envisages sharing of construction costs between the Centre and the states with maintenance costs continuing to be funded fully by the states.’
In the answer provided in the Lok Sabha in July 2018,  the government mentioned that the number of eligible unconnected habitations as per the core network under PMGSY is 1,78,184 out of which the Ministry has sanctioned 1,64,913 habitations till 30th June, 2018. It is also mentioned that the States have reported to have connected 1,41,311 habitations by all-weather road till 30th June, 2018. The Lok Sabha answer also makes a mention of the roads built through State sponsored schemes and that 16,380 habitations were connected through such schemes taking the total connectivity to 1,57,691 habitations. State wise details are provided in another Lok Sabha answer. Hence, 1,57,691 out of 1,78,184 (or 88%) of the habitations which were eligible for PMGSY have been connected.
According to the details provided in another Lok Sabha answer in August 2014, out of the total of 1,78,184 habitations eligible under PMGSY, 99696 habitations have been connected by June 2014 (during the tenure of the previous government). This implies that 56% of the total eligible habitations have been connected by the time the current government took over. This proves that the numbers in the claim correspond to the percentage of habitations connected as per the target set for the period and not all habitations of the country.
Claim: Rural road connectivity increased from 56% in 2014 to 82% villages.
Fact:  By June 2014, 56% of the target habitations under PMGSY were connected by roads. By July 2018, 88% of the target of PMGSY (II) have been connected by roads. Hence, the claim is TRUE. But, it has to be noted that the percentages correspond to the target under PMGSY and not the total habitations in the country.
What about Road connectivity in every village?
The fourth claim is that there will be enhanced road connectivity in every village by 2019 in inaccessible areas. As per a press release of the government in April 2018, connectivity was provided to 1,52,124 habitations (85.37% against 1,78,184 eligible habitations). As per an answer provided in the Lok Sabha in July 2018, States have reported to have connected 1,41,311 habitations by all-weather road till 30th June, 2018. The Lok Sabha answer also makes a mention of the roads built through State sponsored schemes and that 16,380 habitations were connected through such schemes taking the total connectivity to 1,57,691 habitations. State wise details are provided in another Lok Sabha answer. Hence, 1,57,691 out of 1,78,184 (or 88%) of the habitations which were eligible for PMGSY have been connected.  Since the target is to connect all eligible habitations by March 2019, this claim remains unverified.
Claim: Enhanced road connectivity in every village by 2019 in inaccessible areas.
Fact: Since the target is to connect all eligible habitations by March 2019, this claim remains UNVERIFIED.
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here

created: December 26, 2018


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Fact Check: Has the allocation for Scholarships of SCs/OBCs increased?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 1, 2018
One of the infographics uploaded by the government on the 48-months website makes certain claims about scholarships to students from the SC and OBC communities. This article is a fact check of the claims.
One of the infographics uploaded by the government on the 48-months website makes certain claims about scholarships to students from the SC and OBC communities. This article is a fact check of the claims.
How many students have benefitted from scholarships and What was the budget allocation for scholarships?
The first claim is that over 3.3 crore students benefitted during 2014-16, with scholarships worth Rs. 7565 crores. Central Assistance (CA) is released to States for students belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC)/Other Backward Class (OBC) for the following schemes:
There are multiple other schemes, but these are the major scholarship schemes. Based on this answer and this answer provided in the Lok Sabha and the annual report of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, calculations have been made to arrive at the total amount of Central Assistance released during these years and the total number of beneficiaries of these schemes.
What about overall Central Assistance (CA)?
We also compared the central assistance for these four scholarship schemes during the last two years of the UPA government and the first two years of the current government. The budget allocations have only marginally increased in the current government. In the case of Pre-Matric scholarships for SC students, the highest amount was released in 2012-13. In the case of all the other schemes, the highest amount was released in 2015-16. It is also seen that the overall amount released in 2013-14 was more than the amount released in 2014-15.
What about the number of Beneficiaries?
We also compared the total number of beneficiaries of these four schemes during the last two years of the UPA government and the first two years of the current government. While the overall beneficiaries were highest in 2012-13, it was the least in 2013-14. Though it has improved since then, the numbers are still lower than the 2012-13 mark.As per government data, the total number of beneficiaries (for the above mentioned schemes) is 6.99 crore between 2014-16.  The total amount of central assistance released is Rs. 7050.22 crores.
Claim: Over 3.3 crore students benefitted during 2014-16, with scholarships worth Rs. 7565 crore.
Fact: The total number of beneficiaries during 2014-16 is 6.99 crore and the total amount of central assistance released is Rs. 7050.22 crore. Both the number of beneficiaries & the amount of central assistance hasn’t changed much from the last two years of the UPA government.
Hence, the claim is MISLEADING.
Has there been a raise in the income eligibility of Pre-Matric OBC scholarships?
As per the annual report of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, the pre-matric scholarship Scheme is a ‘Funds-Limited’ Scheme. The scholarship is available in such institutions and for such pre-matriculation courses, which have been duly recognized by the concerned State Government and Union Territory Administration. Under the scheme, 50% central assistance is provided to the State Governments over and above their committed liability, while in case of UTs 100% central assistance is provided, subject to availability of the Budget under the scheme. However, North-East States are exempted from this committed liability under the Scheme.
The second claim is that income eligibility has been raised from Rs. 44,500 to Rs. 2.5 lakh rupees for the pre-matric scholarship for OBCs. The Ministry’s 2016-17 annual report mentions that the pre-matric scholarships are awarded to students belonging to OBCs whose parent’s income from all sources does not exceed Rs. 44,500 per annum. However, the 2017-18 annual report of the Ministry mentions the annual income limit as Rs. 2.5 lakh rupees.
Claim: Income eligibility has been raised from 44,500 rupees to 2.5 lakh rupees for the pre-metric scholarship for OBCs.
Fact: The income eligibility has indeed been raised from Rs. 44,500 in 2016-17 to Rs. 2,50,000 in 2017-18. Hence, the claim is TRUE.
Has there been an increase in the income eligibility of pre-matric SC scholarships?
The third claim is that income eligibility has been raised from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh for the pre-matric scholarship for SC students. According to the annual report 2017-18 of the ministry of social justice and empowerment, ‘In order to include more beneficiaries, income eligibility criteria for Pre-Matric Scholarships for Scheduled Castes Students studying in Class IX and X was raised from Rs. 2.00 Lakh to Rs. 2.5 Lakh, at par with Post-matric scholarship for next three years i.e. 2017-18 to 2019-20.”
Claim: Income eligibility has been raised from 2 lakh rupees to 2.5 lakh rupees for the pre-metric scholarship for SC students.
Fact: Income eligibility criteria for Pre-Matric Scholarships for Scheduled Castes Students studying in Class IX and X was raised from Rs. 2 Lakh to Rs. 2.5 Lakh. Hence, the claim is TRUE.
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

created: November 1, 2018


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Fact Check: Has the speed of Rural Road construction doubled?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 15, 2018
Has the average speed of rural road construction doubled? Has the average speed of national highway construction increase substantially? Here is a fact check
In an infographic published by the government on the 48-months portal, there are four claims regarding road connectivity in India. This article is a fact check of the claims.
Has rural road connectivity increased and by how much?
The first claim of the government is that rural road connectivity increased from 56% in 2014 to 82% villages. The impact assessment report of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) states that ‘PMGSY was launched in December 2000 as a special intervention of the Government of India with the broad objective of ensuring sustainable poverty reduction. The scheme aims to provide good quality all-weather single connectivity road to every eligible habitation. Rural roads are a state subject under the Constitution and as such are the basic responsibility of the states. However, under the PMGSY, the construction of good quality and well-engineered roads are fully funded by the Government of India. Maintenance of these roads is the responsibility of the states. The year 2013 saw the launch of PMGSY-II with the objectives of consolidating the existing rural road network and upgrading existing rural roads that provide connectivity to rural growth centres. PMGSY-II envisages sharing of construction costs between the Centre and the states with maintenance costs continuing to be funded fully by the states.’
In the answer provided in the Lok Sabha in July 2018,  the government mentioned that the number of eligible unconnected habitations as per the core network under PMGSY is 1,78,184 out of which the Ministry has sanctioned 1,64,913 habitations till 30th June, 2018. It is also mentioned that the States have reported to have connected 1,41,311 habitations by all-weather road till 30th June, 2018. The Lok Sabha answer also makes a mention of the roads built through State sponsored schemes and that 16,380 habitations were connected through such schemes taking the total connectivity to 1,57,691 habitations. State wise details are provided in another Lok Sabha answer. Hence, 1,57,691 out of 1,78,184 (or 88%) of the habitations which were eligible for PMGSY have been connected.
According to the details provided in another Lok Sabha answer in August 2014, out of the total of 1,78,184 habitations eligible under PMGSY, 99696 habitations have been connected by June 2014 (during the tenure of the previous government). This implies that 56% of the total eligible habitations have been connected by the time the current government took over. This proves that the numbers in the claim correspond to the percentage of habitations connected as per the target set for the period and not all habitations of the country.
Claim: Rural road connectivity increased from 56% in 2014 to 82% villages.
Fact: By June 2014, 56% of the target habitations under PMGSY were connected by roads. By July 2018, 88% of the target of PMGSY (II) have been connected by roads. Hence, the claim is TRUE. But, it has to be noted that the percentages correspond to the target under PMGSY and not the total habitations in the country.
Has the speed of rural road construction almost doubled?
The second claim is that average speed of rural road construction increased from 69km/day in 2013-14 to 134 km/day in 2017-18. The website of the Ministry of Rural Development shows that the average road length constructed per day was 69 km in 2013-14 and has increased to 130 km in 2016-17.  But this presents only half the picture.
Data from the annual reports of the ministry, the PMGSY briefing book and the answer to a question in the Lok Sabha,  reveals the following.  It is quite clear that average speed of construction was higher than 134 km/day in both 2008-09 and 2009-10. Hence this is not the first time that such speed was achieved.
Claim: Average speed of rural road construction increased from 69km/day in 2013-14 to 134km/day in 2017-18
Fact: The average road length constructed per day was 69km in 2013-14 and has increased to 134 km in 2017-18. Hence, the claim is TRUE. However, this is not a record high in the speed of rural road construction and a greater speed was achieved by the UPA government between 2008-10.
Has the length of the national highway network increased and by how much?
The third claim is that national highway network was 92,851 km in 2013-14 and it is 1,20,543 km in 2017-18. According to the annual report (2013-14) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the length of national highways/expressways was 92,851 km. The annual report (2017-18) states that the length of national highways/expressways is 1,20,543 km. The following graph shows that the national highways network has been increasing steadily over the past years. The percentage increase in the total length of national highways during the last four years of the UPA government is more or less the same for the first four years of the current government.
Claim: National highway network was 92,851 km in 2013-14. It is 1,20,543 km in 2017-18.
Fact: The length of the national highway network increased from 92,851 km in 2013-14 to 1,20,543 km in 2017-18.  Hence, the claim is TRUE. However, the percentage increase in the total length of national highways during the last four years of the UPA government is more or less the same for the first four years of the current government.
Has the speed of national highway construction increase?
The last claim is that speed of highway construction increased from 12 km/day in 2013-14 to 27 km/day in 2017-18. Data taken from an answer provided in the Lok Sabha shows that the length of national highway constructed in the year 2013-14 is 4260 km. In a press release, the government stated that 9829 km of national highway was constructed in 2017-18. This implies that 12 km of national highways has been constructed per day in 2013-14 and 27 km per day in 2017-18. The following graph shows the change in average speed of construction over the years based on data gathered from the annual reports of the ministry and answers provided in the parliament. The average speed of construction did increase substantially in the last two years.
Claim: Speed of highway construction increased from 12 km/day in 2013-14 to 27 km/day in 2017-18
Fact:  12 km of national highways have been constructed per day in 2013-14 and 27 km per day in 2017-18. Hence the claim is TRUE
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

created: November 15, 2018


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Fact Check: Has the UP Government slashed funds for Education?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 19, 2017
Various newspapers had published a PTI story saying there was a massive reduction in the education budget by the new UP government. Political parties also picked up the story without cross checking the facts.
The Uttar Pradesh government headed by the BJP presented its first budget recently. The very next day, PTI ran a story which was published by websites like the Business Standard as an automated feed that the UP   government has slashed funds for education in the 2017-18 budget.
Soon after, the Congress Vice- President, Rahul Gandhi also tweeted the Business Standard story.
Great move CM Yogi – next you can save some more money by closing all the hospitalshttps://t.co/1CCqrb5crf
— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) July 15, 2017
The Aam Aadmi Party posted this picture on its Facebook page. The AAP also seems to have taken the numbers from the PTI report published in Business Standard.
So what is the truth?
However, the UP government’s Budget documents tell a different story. Below are the links to the official budget documents
There is a primary difference between the nature of budgets for the year 2016-17 and 2017-18 in the way the allocations are made. The central government and most state governments have done away with the Plan/Non-Plan mode of budgeting to Revenue/Capital budgeting. Even UP has done the same. Despite this change, the allocations have increased and not decreased.
Compared to the budget estimates of 2016-17 by the Akhilesh Yadav government, the education allocation in 2017-18 budget estimate has gone up by over 25%. The allocations have increased in Primary, Secondary as well as Higher education sectors. If one compares the revised estimates of 2016-17, the increase in allocations is over 30%.
Even PRS Legislative Research has noted the same in their analysis of the UP Budget 2017-18. PRS noted that compared to the budget estimate for education in 2016-17 of Rs 49808 (including the budget of SCERT), the 2017-18 budget estimate for education increased by Rs 12500 crore.
Claims Vs Facts
Claim 1: The allocation to secondary education is down to Rs 576 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 9990 crore in 2016-17.
Fact: The total allocation for secondary education in 2017-18 is Rs 9387 crore as per the UP Budget documents. So this claim is false.
Claim 2: The allocation to higher education is down to Rs 272.77 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 2,469.73 crore in 2016-17.
Fact: The total allocation for higher education in 2017-18 is Rs 2656 crore. So this claim is also false.
Claim 3: There is no mention of the laptop scheme in 2017-18 budget.
Fact: Yes, there is no mention of such a scheme in 2017-18 while this was introduced in 2016-17 by the previous government. This claim is true.
Claim 4: The Aam Aadmi Party claimed that the per capita expenditure on education in Delhi as per the 2017-18 budget is (Rs 11300 crore for 1.8 crore population) is Rs 6,277 while the per capita expenditure in UP is Rs 11.52.
Fact: AAP has used only the secondary education budget numbers for UP as reported in the PTI story while it counted the total education budget for Delhi. Even otherwise, the total expenditure on education in UP as per the 2017-18 budget is Rs 62351 crore (including SCERT budget). Hence the per capita expenditure in UP would be Rs 3117.5 and not Rs 11.52 as claimed by AAP. This claim is also false.
Featured Image: dnaindia.com


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Fact Check: Has there been a considerable increase in Defence sector expenditure during the UPA?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 28, 2018
A section on the Congress party website talks about expenditure on various sectors during the UPA. Among other things, this section also talks about expenditure on Defence sector. Here is a Fact Check of the same.
One of the claims made by the Indian National Congress on its website is regarding the expenditure on national security and defense. The website notes that, ‘The Congress-led UPA has always considered the safety and security of each and every citizen of the country with paramount importance. The ten years of UPA rule saw a considerable increase in expenditure on national security and defence, with an increase from 77,000 crore in 2004-05 to 1,93,407 crore in 2012-13.’
Was there a substantial increase in Defence expenditure during the UPA?
The then finance minister while presenting the 2012-13 budget stated that, ‘In the Budget for 2012-13, a provision of 1,93,407 crore has been made for Defence Services which include 79,579 crore for capital expenditure.’
While presenting the budget of 2004-05, the then finance minister stated that, ‘Having high regard to the trend of defence capital expenditure in recent years, it has become necessary to make a higher allocation this year. Accordingly, I propose to increase the allocation for defence to Rs. 77,000 crore (as against Rs. 65,300 crores in BE 2003-04)’
It has to be noted that these numbers are only allocations made and hence the actual expenditure could have been more or less than the allocated amount. We compiled the budget expenditure on the defence sector from 1998-99 (since NDA’s first term). The revised estimate was available from 1998-99 to 2007-08 while the actual expenditure was available from 2008-09 to 2016-17.
The figures show that there has been a continuous increase in the allocation & expenditure on defence with every budget barring 2002-03. This is inline with increasing budget size every year. The allocation for the last few years do not include OROP expenditure. It also has to be noted that the figures mentioned on the Congress website are only allocations and not actual expenditure. For instance, the actual expenditure in 2012-13 was Rs 1,81,776 crores and not Rs 1,93,407 crores.
In terms of the increase in allocation for this sector, it has been up and down over the years. The allocation increased by over 20% compared to the previous year only on three (3) occasions in the last 19 years. In the last nine years (both during the UPA 2 & the current government), the increase is less than 12%.
Claim: The ten years of UPA rule saw a considerable increase in expenditure on national security and defence, with an increase from 77,000 crore in 2004-05 to 1,93,407 crore in 2012-13.
Fact: What is mentioned by the Congress on its website is only allocation and not actual expenditure. The actual expenditure in 2012-13 is less than the allocation. It also has to be noted that the allocation for the defence sector has been increasing every year. Hence, the claim is only PARTLY TRUE.
Featured Image: Defence sector expenditure
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

created: November 28, 2018


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Fact Check: Has there been a exponential increase in camps for Divyangs?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 23, 2018
How true is the government claim that there has been an exponential increase in the number of camps for Divyangs after 2014 and that only 55 camps were organized pre 2014?
An infographic published on the 48 months portal makes a claim that there has been an exponential increase in the number of camps conducted for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) or Divyangs for distribution of support equipment. The following article is a fact check of this claim.
Scheme to distribute support equipment to Divyangs
The Department of Empowerment of PwDs or Divyangs implements a scheme by name ‘Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase / Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP Scheme)’. This scheme has been operational since 1981. As per the scheme guidelines, the main objective of the Scheme is to assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances to promote physical, social, psychological rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities by reducing the effects of disabilities and at the same time enhance their economic potential. Assistive devices are given to PwDs with an aim to improve their independent functioning, and to arrest the extent of disability and occurrence of secondary disability. The aids and appliances supplied under the Scheme must have due certification.
The Scheme is  implemented through a host of implementing agencies such as NGOs, Red Cross, government institutions like  National Trust, ALIMCO, National/State Handicapped Development Corporation, Local Bodies etc. The Agencies are given financial assistance for purchase, fabrication and distribution of such standard aids and appliances that are in conformity with objectives of the Scheme. The implementing agencies have to make suitable arrangements for fitting and post-fitting care of the aids and appliances distributed under the Scheme. The distribution of the aids is done through dedicated camps organized for this purpose. Before the camp, these agencies are supposed to inform the District Collector, BDO, a local public representative, State Government and the Department of Disability Affairs at least one week in advance about the date and the location of the camp. After the camps, the agencies provide a list of beneficiaries and the details of aids and assistive devices with the cost incurred to the State Government and the Department of Disability Affairs.
Have camps being organized for Divyangs increased substantially?
The claim is that there has been an unprecedented increase in camps for Divyangs under ADIP scheme and that only 55 camps were conducted before 2014. The aggregated data on the number of camps organized before 2013-14 is not readily available. However, data from ALIMCO, one of the implementing agencies proves this claim is wrong. Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) is a non-profit company which is 100% owned by the Government of India and is functioning under the Administrative Control of DEPwD. The 2013-14 annual report of ALIMCO mentions that 461 camps were conducted under the ADIP scheme in 2013-14. It has to be noted that ALIMCO is only one of the implementing agencies under the scheme, hence many more camps were conducted by other implementing agencies before 2014.
Further, the data from the annual reports of DEPwD indicates that while the number of camps did increase in 2014-15 and 2015-16, it is decreasing again starting from 2016-17. The average number of camps conducted under the scheme during the tenure of the current government is more than 1500, which is 40% more than the number of camps conducted in 2013-14, the last year of the UPA government. The total number of camps conducted since 2014-15 under the ADIP scheme is more than 6000 as per the latest annual report of DEPwD.
Claim: Only 55 camps were conducted pre 2014 for distribution of support equipment to Divyangs while more than 6000 camps are conducted post 2014.
Fact: It is true that more than 6000 camps were conducted for PwDs under the ADIP scheme since 2014-15. But, it is false that only 55 camps were conducted pre 2014. Hence the claim is FALSE.
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

created: October 23, 2018


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Fact Check:Has there been reduction in the number of RTI applications filed?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 16, 2019
Addressing the RTI
annual convention, Home Minister Amit Shah mentioned that it is the reduction
in the number of RTI applications and not the increase that shows the real
success of RTI. Here is a fact-check.
Union Minister of Home Affairs, AmitShah presided over the inaugural session of 14th Annual Convention of Central Information Commission as chiefguest. The Central
Information Commission (CIC) is the highest appeal body under the RTI Act. The session washeld on 12 October 2019 at New Delhi.
While addressing the gathering duringthe event, Amit Shah said that in 14 years of enactment of Right to Information(RTI) Act, the purpose and objective of the Act had been fulfilled. He alsostated that transparency and accountability were the twin pillars of goodgovernance and hailed RTI as a milestone for good governance.
Amit Shah, during his speech, claimedthat India is the first nation to have successfully created an accountabilitysystem till the last leg of governance. ‘India has nearly 5 lakh information
officers working to fulfil the writ of RTI at different levels of government,
and such a large number of officers working for the cause of transparency and
accountability is unseen elsewhere in the world’, claimed Amit Shah as pera press release by PressInformation Bureau. He further claimed that under the leadership of PM NarendraModi, the government was committed to create a system in which there is enough suo moto declaration of information thatthe need to file RTI applications is reduced. Shah said that the it is thereduction in RTI applications and not the increase in RTI applications thatshows the success of a transparent government even though the RTI process iscompletely accessible to people.
In this story, we fact check the HomeMinister’s claims made earlier this month. We look at the two broad claims made,one if there are 5 lakh information officers and two whether or not the numberof RTI applications has come down under the Modi government.
What is the number
of Public Information Officers?
Claim: India has 5 lakh   information officers at different levels till the last leg of governance and   no other country has such a large number of RTI officers.
Fact: At the central government level, there are more than 23000 public   information officers. In some of the bigger states, there are more than 50000   public information officers each at the state level. So overall, there would   easily be more than 5 lakh information officers at various levels of   governance involved in implementation of the RTI. Thus, the claim is True.
CIC annual reports contains details regarding the number of information officers currentlyworking in the various central government public authorities. As per the latest2017-18 annual report, there are more than 23000 public information officers at the central level. In some of thebigger states, there are more than 50000 public information officers each atthe state level. So overall, there would easily be more than 5 lakh informationofficers at various levels of governance involved in implementation of the RTI.Hence this claim is true.
What
about the number of RTI applications filed every year?
Claim: Modi government is committed to create a system where there is suo moto declaration of information so that need to file RTI applications is reduced.
Fact: Between 2014-2018, the number of RTI applications filed has gone up. There is no evidence to suggest that the number of RTI applications has reduced in the last 4 four years. Since we do not know about the number of applications in the future, the claim remains UNVERIFIED.
It is evident from the data provided in the annual report of CIC that the number of RTI requests have been increasing. From a mere 24,436 in 2005-06 when RTI Act was first passed in the parliament to 12 Lakh applications in 2017-18, the number of requests has increased. It has to be noted that the numbers mentioned in the annual report of the CIC pertain only to the public authorities under the central government. Millions of other applications under RTI are filed at the state and local levels.
The first term of the NDA government was from 2014 to 2019. Data from 2014-15 to 2017-18 suggests that the number of RTI requests has increased by 63%. The number of RTI applications filed was less than the preceding year only in 2016-17 during this period. Increase in the number of public authorities available on the ‘RTI Online’ portal could have also contributed to the increased number of RTI applications.
In addition to this, requests pendingfrom the previous years are carried forward to the current year. Under the government,from 2014-15 to 2016-17, every year around 22% of the requests are carriedforward. In 2015-16, 25% of cases from 2014-15 were brought forward. Similarly,22% of requests from 2015-16 were taken to 2016-17. In 2016-17, 23.5% ofrequests were pending and so were carried forward to 2017-18. Under the UPAgovernment, on an average, every year, only 16% of requests were left pendingfor the subsequent year between 2009-10 and 2013-14.
Thus, we can see that in the first term of Modi government, there has not been any decrease in the number of RTI applications indicating greater suo moto dissemination of information by the government which reduced the need for filing applications. Moreover, there have been complaints about the undue delay in the release of various reports such as the NCRB reports. Hence it cannot be said that there is a greater suo moto dissemination of information today leading to a reduction in the number of RTI applications.

created: October 16, 2019


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Fact Check: Have Amendments to SC/ST PoA worked on ground?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 19, 2018
One of the infographics released by the NDA government on the occasion of 48 months in office talks about the strongest amendments to SC/ST PoA. What is the story of this amendment? Have the amendments worked on ground?
One of the infographics that is being circulated by the NDA government as a part of its “48 months of transforming India” campaign is the following about amendments made to the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Here is a look at the status of implementation of these amendments and if they have resulted in any visible change.
Amendments to the SC/ST PoA
The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoA) was enacted in 1989 to protect people belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). These groups are more vulnerable to discrimination, violence and abuse due to the social position that has been ascribed to them. The state recognizes that, and tried to make amends for it, with the implementation of this Act.
What the NDA government is claiming with this infographic is that under their rule, there have been certain amendments made to the PoA which has further strengthened it. Implicitly they are claiming that their government has made strong efforts towards social justice and the upliftment of the oppressed communities. In particular, the amendments that they claim to have introduced include
The act the infographic refers to is the 2015 Amendment Act which was introduced in the Lok Sabha the year 2014.  However, this bill was introduced to replace the presidential ordinance issued in March 2014 towards the fag end of the UPA-II. The three provisions that are outlined in the infographic were previously part of this ordinance.  Before the ordinance was to lapse, the bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
Thus, although it was under the NDA government that the bill with these amendments was passed,  the bill was first introduced by the UPA government. This weakens the claim that this government alone has made significant efforts for social justice.  To better understand NDA’s work in the implementation of these amendments, here is an analysis of the implementation of these amendments, especially the special courts and their functioning. It also has to be noted that it is the State Government that has to setup these special courts.
Where are special courts located?
The amendment made to the act envisages the establishment of exclusive special courts to deal with offences committed under this act. The effectiveness of these courts depends on whether they are located in areas where they will be of great use. Ideally, states that have a higher incidence of these crimes should also have a higher number of special courts, in order to ensure there are adequate resources to dispose of these cases. In fact, the amendment envisages setting up of these exclusive courts in districts where there is high incidence of such crimes.
If the number of exclusive special courts setup under this act  (as per the 2017-18 annual report of the Ministry of Social Justice) is plotted against the average number of crimes reported under the PoA (between 2014 and 2016), there is a  relatively linear relationship, with a few outliers. States that have high incidence of crimes reported under the PoA also tend to have higher number of special courts, and those with lower incidents have less number of special courts. This is also supported by the correlation estimate of 0.68 between these two variables . Thus, it seems that there is a relatively strong relationship between the incidents of PoA and the number of special courts in a state.  However, there are certain outliers like Bihar, Maharashtra & Odisha that do not have proportional number of exclusive special courts compared to the incidence of crimes. It has to be noted that data is available only for these 14 states in the annual report of the Ministry of Social Justice.
Who is in power in these States?
Another determinant of whether special courts are set up or not is the government within the state since the responsibility of setting up these courts is with the respective state government though special financial assistance is provided by the centre. The states that are under BJP rule have been highlighted in orange. There are a total of 436 districts in these 14 states where as only 195 exclusive special courts are setup. In other words, these courts cover only 44% of the districts. In the BJP ruled states, the exclusive special courts cover 49% of the districts where as in states ruled by others, this is only at 34%. Andhra Pradesh & Telangana are the only states which setup these courts in all the districts. (The data is available only up to 2016-17 post which the number of districts in Telangana has gone up to 31)
What is the efficiency of these Courts?
With more special courts, the number of cases that go to trial are meant to increase along with the number of cases that are ultimately disposed. Hence, another way to understand the impact of the Bill is to see whether the increase in the number of special courts has led to an actual increase in the number of cases disposed of by the courts.
The number of  special courts (including exclusive special courts) was the highest in 2016. Despite this, the disposal of cases for crimes against SCs/STs was the lowest in 2016. There was more than a 20% drop in the number of cases disposed by courts in the year 2016 compared to 2015.
Claim Check
While it is true that the NDA government passed the act with these three amendments, these were originally contemplated by the UPA government and an ordinance was issued during the fag end of UPA II.  The numbers from the year 2016 also make it clear that the mere amendment to the law has not worked. Hence the claim that NDA alone made strong efforts is only partly true.
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

created: September 19, 2018


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Fact Check: Have Amendments to SC/ST PoA worked on ground?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 22, 2018
One of the infographics released by the NDA government on the occasion of 48 months in office talks about the strongest amendments to SC/ST PoA. What is the story of this amendment? Have the amendments worked on ground?
One of the infographics that is being circulated by the NDA government as a part of its “48 months of transforming India” campaign is the following about amendments made to the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Here is a look at the status of implementation of these amendments and if they have resulted in any visible change.
Amendments to the SC/ST PoA
The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoA) was enacted in 1989 to protect people belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). These groups are more vulnerable to discrimination, violence and abuse due to the social position that has been ascribed to them. The state recognizes that, and tried to make amends for it, with the implementation of this Act.
What the NDA government is claiming with this infographic is that under their rule, there have been certain amendments made to the PoA which has further strengthened it. Implicitly they are claiming that their government has made strong efforts towards social justice and the upliftment of the oppressed communities. In particular, the amendments that they claim to have introduced include
The act the infographic refers to is the 2015 Amendment Act which was introduced in the Lok Sabha the year 2014.  However, this bill was introduced to replace the presidential ordinance issued in March 2014 towards the fag end of the UPA-II. The three provisions that are outlined in the infographic were previously part of this ordinance.  Before the ordinance was to lapse, the bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
Thus, although it was under the NDA government that the bill with these amendments was passed,  the bill was first introduced by the UPA government. This weakens the claim that this government alone has made significant efforts for social justice.  To better understand NDA’s work in the implementation of these amendments, here is an analysis of the implementation of these amendments, especially the special courts and their functioning. It also has to be noted that it is the State Government that has to setup these special courts.
Where are special courts located?
The amendment made to the act envisages the establishment of exclusive special courts to deal with offences committed under this act. The effectiveness of these courts depends on whether they are located in areas where they will be of great use. Ideally, states that have a higher incidence of these crimes should also have a higher number of special courts, in order to ensure there are adequate resources to dispose of these cases. In fact, the amendment envisages setting up of these exclusive courts in districts where there is high incidence of such crimes.
If the number of exclusive special courts setup under this act  (as per the 2017-18 annual report of the Ministry of Social Justice) is plotted against the average number of crimes reported under the PoA (between 2014 and 2016), there is a  relatively linear relationship, with a few outliers. States that have high incidence of crimes reported under the PoA also tend to have higher number of special courts, and those with lower incidents have less number of special courts. This is also supported by the correlation estimate of 0.68 between these two variables . Thus, it seems that there is a relatively strong relationship between the incidents of PoA and the number of special courts in a state.  However, there are certain outliers like Bihar, Maharashtra & Odisha that do not have proportional number of exclusive special courts compared to the incidence of crimes. It has to be noted that data is available only for these 14 states in the annual report of the Ministry of Social Justice.
Who is in power in these States?
Another determinant of whether special courts are set up or not is the government within the state since the responsibility of setting up these courts is with the respective state government though special financial assistance is provided by the centre. The states that are under BJP rule have been highlighted in orange. There are a total of 436 districts in these 14 states where as only 195 exclusive special courts are setup. In other words, these courts cover only 44% of the districts. In the BJP ruled states, the exclusive special courts cover 49% of the districts where as in states ruled by others, this is only at 34%. Andhra Pradesh & Telangana are the only states which setup these courts in all the districts. (The data is available only up to 2016-17 post which the number of districts in Telangana has gone up to 31)
What is the efficiency of these Courts?
With more special courts, the number of cases that go to trial are meant to increase along with the number of cases that are ultimately disposed. Hence, another way to understand the impact of the Bill is to see whether the increase in the number of special courts has led to an actual increase in the number of cases disposed of by the courts.
The number of  special courts (including exclusive special courts) was the highest in 2016. Despite this, the disposal of cases for crimes against SCs/STs was the lowest in 2016. There was more than a 20% drop in the number of cases disposed by courts in the year 2016 compared to 2015.
Claim Check
While it is true that the NDA government passed the act with these three amendments, these were originally contemplated by the UPA government and an ordinance was issued during the fag end of UPA II.  The numbers from the year 2016 also make it clear that the mere amendment to the law has not worked. Hence the claim that NDA alone made strong efforts is only partly true.


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Fact Check: Have deposits by Indians in Swiss Banks decreased?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 23, 2018
The government claimed that Swiss Bank deposits by Indians decreased during the current government while they increased during the UPA regime. Here is a Fact Check.
In June this year, media reported that the deposits by Indians in Swiss Banks have increased by over 50% in 2017. This was apparently based on the official annual data released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB). But on 24 July 2018, the Swiss embassy released a press statement stating the following.
“The figures published by the SNB are regularly mentioned in the public domain as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian residents. More often than not, the reports have not taken account of the way the figures have to be interpreted, which has resulted in misleading analyses. Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indian residents in Switzerland are undeclared (so-called ‘Black Money’).
However, the cited figures that show an increase of 50% in Swiss banks’ total liabilities towards India also include non-deposit liabilities as well as business of Swiss branches located in India.
To analyze Indian residents’ deposits held in Switzerland, another data source should be used. This is the so-called “locational banking statistics”, which the SNB collects in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). This data source shows that the liabilities in the form of loans and deposits of Swiss-domiciled banks towards Indian non-banks decreased by 44% between 2016 and 2017.”
In other words, the Swiss embassy made it clear that the figures released by the SNB may not be right ones to understand deposits of Indian residents in Swiss financial institutions. It states that the ‘locational banking statistics’, collected in collaboration with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) should be used to analyse deposits of Indians in Swiss banks.
What are Locational Banking Statistics?
The ‘locational banking statistics’ are released quarterly by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The BIS is owned by 60 central banks representing countries around the world. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), SNB and other major central banks are members of BIS.
As per the methodology available on the BIS website, ‘the locational banking statistics (LBS) were designed to provide comprehensive and consistent quarterly data on international banking business conducted in the countries and other financial centres making up the LBS reporting area. The basic organising principle underlying the reporting requirements is the residence of the reporting banking office’. In other words, the statistics are released on the principle of the location of the reporting bank and the location of the counterpart. In India’s case, the reporting country is Switzerland and the counterpart is India.
What is the government claiming?
In response to a question by Congress’s Anand Sharma in the Rajya Sabha, the government referred to the press release of the Swiss embassy and claimed that ‘the loans and deposits of Indians, other than Banks, in the Swiss banks decreased by 34.5% in the year 2017 as compared to 2016. Further, there has been significant reduction in Swiss non-bank loans and deposits of Indians by 80.2% between 2013 and 2017.’ The BJP also tweeted with an infographic on the same issue that claimed such a decrease in the deposits of Indians.
Have deposits by Indians in Swiss banks decreased?
Going by the data on ‘locational banking statistics’ as referred to by the Swiss embassy, the liabilities in the form of loans and deposits of Swiss-domiciled banks towards Indian non-banks have been decreasing for a while now. The liabilities in the form of loans and deposits are usually used as a proxy for deposits by residents of various countries in the Swiss financial institutions.
The data from the BIS is available from the year 1996. Going by this data, the liabilities of Swiss banks towards Indian non-banks had reached a peak of USD 8885 million in the year 2007, just before the global financial crisis. But following the global financial crisis, these liabilities had continuously decreased ever since except in the year 2013 when they increased marginally. It is true that between 2014 & 2017, the liabilities have decreased by more than 75%. But this is only half the picture. The infographic uploaded by the BJP conveniently uses only 2012 & 2013 as the comparison. If one were to go by the respective periods of rule by the various governments, between 2009 & 2013 (during UPA 2), the liabilities decreased by more than 50%. In fact, from a peak of USD 8885 million in 2007, the liabilities decreased by over 70% in the year 2013.
Fact Check: It is true that between 2014 & 2017, when the BJP is in power, the liabilities have decreased by more than 75%. But this is only half the picture. The infographic uploaded by the BJP conveniently uses only 2012 & 2013 as the comparison. If one were to go by the respective periods of rule by the various governments, between 2009 & 2013 (during UPA 2), the liabilities decreased by more than 50%. In fact, from a peak of USD 8885 million in 2007, the liabilities decreased by over 70% in the year 2013. Hence the claim is only PARTLY TRUE since the liabilities also decreased during the UPA regime.
Are these liabilities ‘Black Money’?
Automatic exchange of information (AEOI) in tax matters between Switzerland & India has come into force from 1 January 2018. The Indian authorities will receive detailed information of all Indian residents that maintain an account in Swiss financial institutions starting September 2019. It cannot be concluded if all of this is black or unaccounted money. The legal foundations for introducing the AEOI came into force on 1 January 2017 in Switzerland. To date, Switzerland has activated AEOI with 38 different countries including India.
What about other Countries?
If one looks at the data on liabilities for other countries, it follows a similar decreasing trend though not on the same scale as India. Between 2014 & 2017, the liabilities towards non-banks in Brazil decreased by 43% and towards non-banks in Pakistan decreased by 42%. The decreasing trend is seen in most of the countries following the global financial crisis in 2008. In the case of Russia, where the liabilities increased even after 2008 to reach a peak in 2012, a 29% decrease was observed between 2014 & 2017. The decrease in India’s case doesn’t seem to be isolated.


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Fact Check: How many LED bulbs have been distributed across the country?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 21, 2018
The government published an infographic titled ‘New momentum for new India’ on the 48-months portal.  It makes two claims regarding construction of houses and distribution of LED lights. The following article is a fact check of these claims.
The government published an infographic titled ‘New momentum for new India’ on the 48-months portal.  It makes two claims regarding construction of houses and distribution of LED lights. The following article is a fact check of these claims.
How many houses have been built over the last four years?
The first claim is that over the last 4 years, almost one crore houses have been constructed in rural and urban India.
In response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the government stated that,  ‘To pursue the objective of ‘Housing for All by 2022’, the Government approved re- structuring of the erstwhile rural housing scheme Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) into Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana -Gramin (PMAY-G). Under PMAY-G, the beneficiaries are to be selected from Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 list and as verified by the Gram Sabha will get enhanced unit assistance with additional assistance for toilet construction, unskilled wage labour under MGNREGS. Use of locally available construction material, increased availability of rural masons through rural mason training programme for better quality of construction, availability of house design choices etc. are other feature of PMAY-G. Under PMAY-G, it is proposed to construct one crore houses in three years from 2016-17 to 2018-19.’
In response to another question in the Rajya Sabha, the government stated  a total of 94.91 lakh houses were built in the rural areas between 2015 and 2018 and 42.93 lakh houses were sanctioned to be built in urban areas during the same period. This makes the total of more than one crore houses. It has to be noted that even during the previous government, substantial number of houses were built in the rural areas.
Claim: Over the last 4 years, almost one crore houses have been constructed in rural and urban India.
Fact: 94.91 lakh houses were built in the rural areas between 2015 and 2018 and 42.93 lakh houses were sanctioned to be built in urban areas during the same period. Hence, the claim is TRUE.
How many LED bulbs have been distributed? What has been the saving from this?
The second claim is that more than 29.83 crore LED bulbs have been distributed which is more than the population of Brazil and that it resulted in an overall savings of Rs 15,496 crore.
According to an answer provided in Lok Sabha by the government, ‘Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture company of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the Ministry of Power, has launched Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LED for All (UJALA) Programme to provide LED bulbs to domestic consumers, with a target to replace 77 crore incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs by March 2019’.
As per the same answer, EESL has distributed over 28.16 crore LED bulbs covering all 36 States/UTs across the country by December 2017. According to the Ujala dashboard  on  20th November 2018, the number of LED light bulbs distributed is 31.49 crores. This has amounted to a saving of 16,362 core rupees per year. The population of Brazil, in the year 2018 is 21.14 according to World Population Review.
The calculations on savings are based on the premise that these LED bulbs result in reduction of electricity consumption in excess of 10%. The study by an independent energy group ‘Prayas’ corroborates reduction in the electricity consumption because of the LED bulbs. At the same time, the study says, ‘A considerably large proportion of the UJALA LED bulbs were used to replace CFLs, followed by incandescent bulbs and tube lights. Although these observations are limited to the cities we surveyed, they differ substantially from the assumptions used by EESL to estimate the savings from the UJALA programme at the national level. EESL assumes that households are using all the LED bulbs bought through UJALA, that all of these bulbs were used to replace incandescent bulbs, and that all the bulbs are being used for about eight hours daily. A wider survey across different states can result in better assumptions and consequently a realistic estimation of actual savings realised.’  The study further recommends that EESL’s estimation of savings realised from UJALA needs to be justified by wider surveys collecting data on the actual use of LED Bulbs.
During the UPA government’s tenure, LED Village Campaign Scheme was implemented by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) where villages are adopted for demonstration projects and LED bulbs are provided free of cost. But it was not as widespread as the current scheme and was only the beginning of promoting energy efficient lighting solutions.
Claim: More than 29.83 crore LED bulbs have been distributed which is more than the population of Brazil. Overall savings of 15,496 crore rupees.
Fact: 31.49 crore LED bulbs have been distributed till date while the population of Brazil is 21.14 crore. As per government figures, this has resulted in  savings of 16,362 crore rupees per year. Since the amount of savings is not corroborated by any independent study, the claim is PARTLY TRUE.
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

created: November 21, 2018


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Fact Check: How much did the Modi Government pay for the UPA era oil bonds? - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 21, 2018
Many BJP leaders including the petroleum minister were quoted as saying that the current government repaid more than  Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth oil bonds which were issued during the previous UPA government. What is the truth?
Many BJP leaders including the petroleum minister were quoted as saying that the current government repaid more than  Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth oil bonds which were issued during the previous UPA government. The BJP’s official twitter handle put out an infographic which claimed that the current government repaid pending oil bonds worth Rs 1.3 crore with an interest of Rs 40,000 crore.
What the economist PM Manmohan Singh said & did on petroleum prices? He said that money does not grow on trees & left unpaid bills of oil bonds worth Rs. 1.3 lakh crore. Modi govt paid off the pending bills with interest because ‘we should not burden our children’. #NationFirst pic.twitter.com/Z8zTV1kG1i
— BJP (@BJP4India) September 10, 2018
So how much did the current government pay for the oil bonds issued during the UPA? Is this is the only government that has paid interest on oil bonds? Were oil Bonds issued only during the UPA? Here is a Fact Check.
What are oil bonds & who all issued these bonds?
Oil Bonds were issued by the governments during the days when the prices of petrol/diesel were regulated. Instead of paying the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for the subsidies extended on petrol/diesel & other oil products, the governments used to issue oil bonds as compensation to these companies which are like government securities. These securities are usually long dated securities of 10-20 years. For instance, look at this notification of the Oil Bonds issued during the  UPA.
Oil Bonds were issued by all the previous governments till 2010 when the petrol price was deregulated. Even the previous NDA government under Vajpayee issued oil bonds. In his budget speech of the 2002-03 budget, the then Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha mentioned that the government will issue oil bonds.
What is the worth of Oil Bonds pending?
The budget documents available in the public domain reveal the information of pending oil bonds and the amount of interest to be paid on these oil bonds. As per annexure 6E of the receipt budget 2014-15, titled ‘Special Securities Issued To Oil Marketing Companies In Lieu Of Cash Subsidy’, the total value of pending oil bonds by the end of 2013-14 was Rs 1,34,423 crore. This is when the NDA government took over. As per this document, the pending liabilities related to Oil Bonds were Rs 1,34,423 crore. The only set of bonds due for maturity during 2014-19 period (the Modi government’s term) were the two sets of bonds which matured in 2015,  totaling Rs 3500 crore. (Note: This was first highlighted by Boom Live)
We cross checked this with the annexure 2E of the receipt budget of 2018-19 which showed the same set of pending liabilities. In other words, the pending liabilities when the Modi government took over were Rs 1,34,423 crore and by 2018-19, the liabilities stand at Rs 1,30,923 crore. In effect, the modi government repaid only Rs 3,500 crore worth of oil bonds which matured in the year 2015. Update: The Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum has also confirmed that the current government has only repaid oil bonds worth Rs 3,500 crore.
Claim: Modi government paid off the pending bills of the Oil Bonds.
Fact: The Modi government paid only Rs 3,500 crore worth oil bonds which matured in 2015 and Oil Bonds worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore are still pending. Hence this claim is FALSE.
What about interest on Oil Bonds?
The interest payments of Government of India are captured in a document titled ‘Interest Payments’ in the demand for grants of the Ministry of Finance under the expenditure budget. All the interest payments made by the government are given in this document including the interest on special bonds to oil companies. The data of the last 20 years suggests that various government (both UPA & NDA) have been paying interest on oil bonds. The interest liability increased substantially during the UPA-1 because of the issue of multiple oil bonds. The UPA-2 paid a total of Rs 53,163 crore in interest for oil bonds in the 5-year of period between 2009-10 and 2013-14. On the other hand, the current NDA government paid a total of Rs 40,225 crore in the 4 year period between 2014-15 and 2017-18. They have also budgeted an interest payment of Rs 9989.96 crore in 2018-19.
The interest payments for the last 4 years also clearly indicate that there was no change in the outstanding amount, hence no repayments in the last four years except in 2015. Though it is true that the Modi government paid an interest of over Rs 40,000 crore in the last 4 years, the UPA-2 had also paid similar if not a greater amount of interest during their term.
Claim: Modi government paid interest of Rs 40,000 crore on oil bonds.
Fact: The Modi government paid Rs 40,225 crore on interest for oil bonds. Hence this claim is TRUE. But it has to be noted that even the previous UPA government paid such interest and in fact a greater amount than the current government.
How do these payments match up with the increased excise duty on Petrol & Diesel?
The total amount of excise duty collected by the Government of India between 2014-15 & 2017-18 is Rs 7,49,485 crore. During the same period, the government made a total payment of Rs 43,725 crore towards repayment & interest on oil bonds. The payment on oil bonds is less than 6% of the total excise duty collected on petrol/diesel. Hence to say that this was the reason for increase in taxes does not seem justified.
This story is part of a larger series on the 4-years of the Modi government. This series has been made possible with the flash grant of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN). Read the rest of the stories in this series here.

created: September 21, 2018


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Fact Check: BJP claims about biggest single day gains in Sensex and Nifty
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 4, 2019
Recently, BJP through its twitter handle has claimed that Sensex and Nifty had their biggest single day gains on 20 September 2019. Here is a fact check of the claim.
The official Twitter handle of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 20th September 2019, tweeted about the biggest single day gains for Sensex and Nifty in the last 10 years. Further, the tweet also makes a statement that the corporate tax rate cut is the ‘Biggest ever economic reform since 1991’.  Here is a fact check about these claims.
Claim: Biggest single day gains for Sensex and Nifty.
Fact: Sensex and Nifty are the indices for Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) respectively. On 20 September 2019, BSE Sensex increased by 1921.15 points over the previous day’s closing. This is the highest gain for BSE Sensex in a single day over the last 10 years. Similarly, NSE Nifty gained 569.4 points which is also the highest single day claimed over a decade. Hence the claim made regarding the biggest single day gains for Sensex and Nifty is True.
Claim: Biggest ever Economic reform since 1991.
Fact: Another statement in the tweet was that it is the ‘Biggest ever economic reform since 1991’. The tweet does not cite the specific reform being referred to. However, it is most likely that the tweet is referring to the corporate tax rate cuts.  Assuming that is the reform being referred to, ‘biggest ever’ is an exaggeration and does not present the true impact of any reform as both the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty also saw losses after 20 September gains. Hence this claim is Misleading.
Sensex and Nifty are the benchmark
Indices of stock markets in India
Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) are the largest stock exchanges in India fortrading of company stocks. With both of these exchanges having a marketcapitalization of more than Rs. 2 trillion each, they broadly represent themarket sentiment.
BSE Sensex, also referred to asS&P’s BSE Sensex Index, comprises of 30 of the largest andmost actively traded stocks on BSE.
Similarly, Nifty i.e. Nifty 50 (National Stock Exchange
Fifty) consists of 50 of the actively traded stocks on NSE and are spread across 12sectors.
There are multiple factors whichinfluence the performance of these indices. The positive sentiment in theinvestors based on the performance of the respective companies/sectors and theinitiatives of the government to create a positive environment for businessesto thrive are some of the factors that generally help in the increase of valueof the stocks and there by these indices. On the contrary, negative sentiment and environment would result in thestocks losing their value and hence indices losing.
Biggest single day gains over a decade for both Sensex and Nifty on 20 September 2019
The gains recorded by both Sensexand Nifty on 20 September 2019 were the highest single day gains for over adecade.
On 19 September 2019, BSE Sensex closed at 36093.47 points and on 20 September, it closed at 38014.62 points i.e. a gain of 1921.15 points. Prior to that, the highest one-day gain in the previous decade was 1421.9 points on 20 May 2019.
On the other hand, NSE Nifty closed at 10704.8 points on 19 September 2019 and gained 569.4 points on 20 September 2019 to close at 11274.2, the highest single day gain in the last decade. The highest single day gain for Nifty earlier was on 20 May 2019 (similar to Sensex) with 421.1 points.
Even in terms of percentage gain compared to the previous day, the gain made on 20 September 2019, which is 5.32% was the highest for BSE Sensex in the last decade. The earlier highest percentage gain for BSE Sensex in a day was on 10 September 2013 when the Sensex gained 3.77%.
Even for Nifty, the highest percentage change in a single day was recorded on 20 September 2019 with an increase of 5.32%. The earlier highest percentage gain over the previous day was 3.81% on 10 September 2013.
Decline in both Sensex and Nifty
post 20 September 2019
The big gains made on 20 September 2019 didn’t sustain for a longer period of time as both Sensex and Nifty fell over the next ten days.  BSE Sensex recorded a gain of 1075.42 on next working day of BSE, i.e. 23 September 2019, but 4 of the next 6 days recorded loss in the index, as noted in the chart below.
Similarly, NSE Nifty also recorded gains on the subsequent working day with 326 points but recorded losses for 5 days in the next week barring 26th September.
Hence, it is true that the gains made on 20 September 2019 were the biggest ever in the last decade.
The positive sentiment of policy
changes did not sustain for a longer period
The tweet on BJP’s official Twitter account on 20 September 2019 also claimed that it is the ‘Biggest ever economic reform since 1991’. The tweet does not cite the specific reform being referred to. However, it is most likely that the tweet is referring to the corporate tax rate cuts announced on 20 September, 2019.
The stated intent of the governmentbehind this announcement include
The idea behind this announcement was to create a positive environment for business. The announcement had helped in creating an initial positive sentiment in the market which reflected in the gains over the next two days. However, the performance of the stock markets since then indicates that the relief provided does not completely address the issues currently impacting the markets and thereby the economy. The stocks markets continue to trade in the loss.  Further, the magnitude of the single-day gains could also be attributed to the lower Sensex & Nifty numbers over the past few months.
As the period graphs above suggest, both Sensex and Nifty closed higher in earlier months. Since the rally on 20 September was a short-lived one, it could take much longer for the indices to reach their highest ever closure. Hence the claim that the corporate tax rate cuts are the biggest economic reforms since 1991, is far-fetched and misleading.

created: October 4, 2019


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Fact Check: How true are Congress party’s claims about Exports growth, Unemployment rate and other things? - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 6, 2019
Soon after the GDP growth for quarter-1 of 2019-20  was known to be a poor 5%, the Congress party uploaded an infographic with a bunch of claims on GDP growth, Unemployment rate, Exports growth etc. Here is a fact check of these claims.
On 02 September 2019, the Indian National Congress posted an infographic comparing the GDP, Unemployment Rate, Exports Growth and Car Sales growth in India during the Manmohan Singh led UPA government’s tenure and the current NDA government led by Narendra Modi. Here is a fact check of these claims.
About Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate
GDP growth rate was 8.02% during the UPA government’s tenure while it is only 5% under NDA government.
Fact: While it is true that the GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2019-20 is just 5%, it does not convey the numbers about NDA’s complete tenure. It is also not clear whether the comparison is with respect to a particular quarter or a full financial year. Notwithstanding the controversy regarding the GDP back series data, this claim is MISLEADING.
The National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on 30 August 30 2019, released the ‘Estimates of Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter’ from April to June 2019-20. As per this report, the GDP at constant (2011-12) prices in Quarter 1 of the current financial year 2019-20 witnessed a growth of only 5%. The GDP for this quarter is estimated at ₹ 35.85 lakh crores as compared to ₹ 34.14 lakh crores in the same quarter of 2018-19. The first quarter of the financial year 2018-19 had witnessed a GDP growth of 8% as compared to the first quarter of 2017-18.
The 5% growth rate in real GDP has been witnessed in the first quarter of the second NDA term. The revised GDP data released by MoSPI in August 2018, at constant (2011-12) prices, shows that during the UPA’s term, India’s real GDP growth increased from 7.9% in 2004-05 to 8.1% in 2006-07 and then declined to 3.1% in 2008-09. Again in 2010-11, it increased to 8.5% and dropped to 5.2% in 2011-12. Overall, the back series data estimates that the GDP growth during UPA (both the terms) was around 6.7%. This is contrast to the 8.1% and 7.5% growth during UPA-1 (2004-09)  & UPA-2 (2009-14) respectively, using the old series data. There has also been criticism & controversy regarding the new series and the opposition termed the new data release as ‘gimmickry, jugglery, trickery and chicanery’ as per a story in The Hindu. Numerous other articles were written questioning the kind of data used and the final numbers as per the new series. At the same time, the GDP growth rate as per the new series for the first four years of the NDA (2014-18) was estimated at 7.35%. For the year 2018-19, GDP growth was estimated at 6.8%.
While it is true that the GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2019-20 is just 5%, it does not convey the numbers about NDA’s complete tenure. It is also not clear whether the comparison is with respect to a particular quarter or a full financial year. Notwithstanding the controversy regarding the GDP back series data, this claim is Misleading.
What about Unemployment
rate?
During UPA government’s tenure, the unemployment rate was 2.2% while under NDA government, the unemployment rate is 7.9%.
Fact: As per quinquennial (recurring every 5 years) NSSO surveys on employment & unemployment, the unemployment rate during the UPA was around 2.2%. The unemployment rate during the NDA as per the PLFS 2017-18 was 6.1%. The figure of 7.9% is based on the survey of a Mumbai based private organization. Hence the claim is PARTLY TRUE.
According to a Mumbai based organisation, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, in June 2019, the unemployment rate in India had reached 7.9%. The report has further added that the rate of labour participation has also declined. According to the report, labour participation rate is the proportion of working age population comprising of those above the age of 15 years, that is actively looking for a job, be it employed or unemployed. Unemployment rate has been calculated as the proportion of labour force that is not employed. The sample size used is 5,22, 000. The sampling method has not been mentioned.
As far as MoSPI is concerned, the quinquennial (recurring every 5 years) labour force surveys on employment and unemployment were conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). The last such survey was conducted during 2011-12. Now, NSSO has switched to the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which was conducted during 2017-18.
According to the National Sample Survey Office (68 round), in 2011-12, the unemployment rate stood at 2.2%. This survey was based on 4,56,999 persons spread out across the country selected using appropriate statistical sampling methods. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)  published in May 2019 states that the unemployment rate in India as of 2017-18 was 6.1%.  PLFS was based on 4,33,339 persons across the country.  The unemployment rate as per earlier NSSO surveys was 2% in 2009-10 and 2.3% in 2004-05.
What about growth in
Exports?
The growth of exports under UPA government’s term had increased by 69% while under the current NDA government, it shows a negative growth of 9.71%.
Fact: While it is true that the exports during UPA increased 69% in the 10 years, the numbers cited for NDA are for one particular month. During the first term of the NDA, the overall exports in USD increased by 6.4%. Hence the claim is only PARTLY TRUE.
As per a press release of the Department of Commerce in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry dated 15 July 2019, India’s exports under merchandise trade including re-exports stood at $25.01 billion in June 2019. This figure is 9.71% less than the corresponding exports in the same month in financial year 2018-19 (in June 2018, the exports stood at $27.7 billion). In terms of INR, it was observed that in June 2018 and 2019, the exports stood at ₹ 1.87 Lakh Crores and ₹1.73 Lakh Crores respectively indicating a decline by 7.52%. The cumulative value of exports in US Dollars has witnessed a negative growth of 1.69% in the last one year. It can be concluded that the decline of 9.71% is about value of exports in one particular month of June 2019.
On the other hand, in terms of INR, the total exports had increased from ₹ 16.3 lakh crores in 2008-09 to ₹ 24.6 Lakh crores in 2013-14 during the second term of UPA. In terms of US$, it was seen that during the same period, the exports increased from $189 billion in 2008-09 to $318.6 billion in 2013-14 resulting in a 69% increase in exports.
During the NDA government’s first term, the overall exports increased from $310 billion in 2014-15 to $330 billion in 2018-19, an increase of around 6.4%.
While it is true that the exports during UPA increased 69% in the 10 years, the numbers cited for NDA are for one particular month. During the first term of the NDA, the overall exports in USD increased by 6.4%. Hence the claim is only partly true.
Has the Car sales growth down 36%?
The sales of cars grew by 7.92% under UPA government’s term whereas under the current NDA government, it has fallen by 36%.
Fact: It is not clear as to what the numbers in the infographic are referring to. The decline during NDA pertain to one specific brand Maruti Suzuki in one particular month. The number mentioned for UPA could not be correlated with any of the available figures. Hence the claim remains UNVERIFIED.
With the automobile industry is struggling both globally and in India, the infographic by the Congress party has stated that the car sales have come down under the NDA government by 36%. Maruti Suzuki, a leading car manufacturer of India, in its sales report of August 2019 stated that it witnessed a decline in sale of domestic passenger vehicles by 36.1% as compared to the sales in August 2018. Further, there have been reports that the Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp have also faced a negative growth by 45% and 20% respectively in August this year. A response in the Lok Sabha from July 2019 reveals that there has been a 10.08% decline in automobile sales in the country between January and June 2019. Data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations indicates that the sale of passenger vehicles in July 2019 decreased by 11% compared to the previous year where the sales increased by 7% compared to June 2019. So it is clear that the Congress party’s infographic is referring to data of Maruti Suzuki for the month of August 2019.
As per a research paper in International Journal of Current Research & Academic Review (IJCRAR), the sale of passenger vehicles increased from 10.61 lakh in 2004-05 to 25.03 lakh in 2013-14, during the 10 years of the UPA government. However, the sales in 2013-14 were less than the sales in both 2011-12 and 2012-13.
It is not clear as to what the numbers in the infographic are referring to, especially with respect to the UPA’s term. The decline during NDA pertain to one specific brand Maruti Suzuki in one particular month, though it has to be noted that the auto sector is going through a serious downward trend. The number mentioned for UPA could not be correlated with any of the available figures. Hence the claim remains unverified.
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created: September 6, 2019