Ravi Shankar Prasad quotes box office collections to deny economic slowdown

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad cited business three Bollywood movies did on October 2 to deny that the Indian economy is in a slump. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Prasad said that three films generating Rs 120 crore in a single day are proof enough of a sound economy.

"I was also told that on October 2, which is observed as one of the national holidays, three Hindi movies garnered Rs 120 crore business on that day. Unless the economy is sound in the country how can only three movies collected so much business in a single day?" Prasad said while talking to reporters.

The minister was in Mumbai to campaign for the BJP for the October 21 Maharashtra Assembly polls. He alleged that some people organised against the government are misleading people over the unemployment scenario.

ALSO READ: India slips 10 places to 68th rank on WEF's competitive index; financial sector remains 'deep and stable'

Several sectors in India have witnessed a substantial drop in sales performance as the economy is faced with a slowdown. India's GDP growth has slowed to a 6-year low of 5 per cent in the June quarter. Industrial output in August shrunk by 1.1 per cent due to poor show by manufacturing and mining sectors. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already announced a slew of measures to address this slump, including corporate tax cut, reforms in the banking sector, and steps to generate demand in the auto industry.

Recently, India dropped 10 places in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index to 68th position, ranking higher than only Brazil among the BRICS nations. In response to this, Prasad listed areas where the country managed perform well.

"Look at innovation, start-ups and market size parameters, we are improving. It is true that we have dropped on some other parameters," he added. These were the only parameters where India managed to perform well in the global competitiveness index. A total of 141 nations were surveyed in Global Competitiveness Index Report on the basis of 103 indicators, which were classified under 12 broad themes.

ALSO READ: People losing trust in future; rising pessimism leads to less consumption, and less investments: Klaus Schwab