Senior politicians like Congress leader Dr. Udit Raj and former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, in a desperate attempt to target Narendra Modi-led government, used Twitter to spread false information regarding India’s position in the world’s fastest-growing economy index in 2021. As the fake claims went viral, Press Information Bureau (PIB) had to post a tweet debunking the obvious fake claim.
In his Tweet posted on July 12, the Congress leader Udit Raj claimed in Hindi that India, which was at number 3 during the Congress regime has slipped to the 164th rank in the 2021 global list of the fastest-growing nations under BJP rule. He further added that the Modi administration is making every effort to make sure that India reaches that 193rd position on the global index so that it tops from the bottom.
तेज़ गति से बढ़ती अर्थव्यवस्था के हिसाब से भारत का स्थान दुनिया में 164 है और कांग्रेस के समय 3 पर थी। मोदी सरकार पूरी ताक़त लगा रही है 193 स्थान पर पहुँच जाय ताकि सबसे नीचे से टॉप करे।@INCIndia @kkc_india
— Dr. Udit Raj (@Dr_Uditraj) July 12, 2022
Disgruntled BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, also peddled the same misinformation on July 11. Taking a dig at the Modi government, Swamy tweeted an image that said: “India is now 164th fastest growing nation in the world, among 193 countries.”
“From 3rd largest economy in 2011 to 164th in 2021,” the image said.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) July 11, 2022
A social media account named Inquilab India, which appears to be strongly anti-BJP and anti-Modi based on its posts shared on its various social media accounts, was the first to share the image with the false assertions. The image that bears the logo was probably shared by the social media user on or before June 9. It has most likely been deleted now.
Another Facebook user named Subhash Naik had also shared the same image on June 9.
The politicians, in their hate for PM Modi, saw it as a perfect opportunity to attack the Modi administration. They promptly dug up the image bearing the false information and used it to mislead their followers against the central government and denigrate India.
However, as soon as these politicians disseminated the misleading information, PIB fact-checked the leaders and exposed their flagrant lies.
PIB fact check rubbishes the claim made by Congress leader Udit Raj, and Subramanian Swamy
Following the Tweets, Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking arm discredited the claims made by senior politicians like Udit Raj and Subramanian Swamy. Sharing the image posted by the social media user Inquilab India, the PIB fact-check exposed the fake news Udit Raj and Swamy was trying to peddle in order to malign the Modi administration.
In a tweet, PIB Fact Check called the claim fake. It confirmed that India is still the 3rd largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).
Claim: India slips to the 164th rank in the list of the fastest-growing nations in 2021, from being the third-largest economy in 2011.#PIBFactCheck
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) July 11, 2022
▪️ This claim is #Fake.
▪️ India is the 3rd largest economy in terms of PPP. pic.twitter.com/ZvETR8IxGT
Countering Subramanian Swamy’s fake assertions, social media user @Rose_k01 also shared screenshots of a 2022 report that explained how India is still the 3rd largest economy in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)
Misleading Claim. India is still 3rd largest in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) pic.twitter.com/AJoIgDgnNF
— Rosy (@rose_k01) July 11, 2022
Notably, as per the World Bank data for the reference year 2017, India has retained its position as the third-largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). India accounts for 6.7 per cent, or $8,051 billion, out of the world’s total of $119,547 billion of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of PPP, a measure of relative consumer prices across countries.
Also, the Price Level Index (PLI), the ratio of a PPP to its corresponding market exchange rate, which is used to compare the price levels of economies, improved to 47.55 in 2017 during the Modi regime from 42.99 in 2011, when the UPA was in power.
In 2020, a release by the National Statistical Office (NSO) stated, “In 2017, India retained and consolidated its global position, as the third-largest economy, accounted for 6.7 per cent ($8,051 billion out of world total of $119,547 billion) of global GDP in terms of PPPs as against China (16.4 per cent) and the US (16.3 per cent), respectively.
“India is also the third-largest economy in terms of its PPP-based share in global actual individual consumption and global gross capital formation,” said the release of the National Statistical Office (NSO).”
The NSO had quoted the World Bank which had released new PPPs for the reference year 2017, under the International Comparison Program (ICP), that adjusted for differences in the cost of living across economies of the world. Globally, 176 economies participated in the 2017 cycle of ICP.
