The Narendra Modi- government spent just Rs 1 lakh crore more in the first four months of this fiscal to pump prime the economy ravaged by a once-in-a-century catastrophe, leading to an unprecedented 24 per cent contraction in GDP.

“The Centre failed to create a demand pull in the system during this crucial period because it did not spend enough. Even though the headline screamed Rs 20 lakh crore of fiscal stimulus, the Centre just spent Rs 1.07 lakh crore more than the same period last year,” Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra said on Monday.

According to data offered by Mitra, who was trained as an economist, central expenditure between April and July 2020-21 was Rs 10.54 lakh crore compared with Rs 9.47 lakh crore in the same period of 2019-20.

India’s GDP contracted by 23.9 per cent in the April-June period against 12.4 cent of Italy and 9.5 per cent of the United States, the two countries most affected by Covid-19 pandemic, other than India.

By numbers, Rs 11 lakh crore of GDP was wiped away in the first quarter this year. “While there has been focus on the supply side, little attention was given to the demand side. I wonder if there are enough people in the Centre who understand macroeconomics. The United States came out of the Great Depression by boosting demand. We had to do the same,” Mitra said.

According to the Bengal finance minister, 60 per cent of India’s GDP comes from consumption. This meant that if the Centre had put money in the hands of people, much of the Rs 11 lakh crore loss could be recouped as it would have come back to the system, Mitra argued.