Pune: Former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday said that the crisis looming over the economy is the first real test for the National Democratic Alliance govt in its 12-year tenure.Sinha said that the agrarian economy will suffer badly if fertilisers are unavailable and the rainfall is deficient. Unemployment is worsening as is evident from the long lines for menial jobs, Sinha said in Pune. Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and other Congress members attended the dialogue.The former FM said that the manifestations of global and domestic cues in the economy are evident in the paucity of resources for the people. Sinha likened the situation to undeclared rationing of fuel.“The responsibility of bearing the brunt of economic distress is on the common man while govt is at ease and shying away from its duties,” the former BJP veteran said.Sinha, who was the minister of external affairs under late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was critical of the current govt’s foreign policy. Its failure to protest with the World Trade Organisation when the US imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods shows lacunae in the foreign policy as does its silence when the US deported illegal immigrants to India in handcuffs, he said.He also raised serious concerns about the authenticity of the economic data released by govt. Citing a Nov 2025 report, he said that IMF had assigned grade C to India for the quality of economic data.“In FY26, India reported a GDP growth rate of 7.7% which puts it in the list of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Yet, several noted economists in the country believe that it is inflated by 4-5%. This puts the actual GDP growth rate at around 2.5%,” he said.While much is said about making India a developed country by 2047, its economy will have to grow at an average growth rate of 8% till then to achieve the goal, Sinha added.
