Page 18 - NIS English 16-31,March 2023

Cover Story Middle Class

Progress of middle class means prosperity,

secure future, better life, and simplicity…

In the last eight-nine years, the central government has worked with a holistic-systematic
approach to boost the standard of living and health facilities of the middle class. India's
rising global profile in many fields has instilled a new sense of pride among our middle class.
The Government of India is equally committed to promoting middle-class prosperity through
4 pillars while providing an alternative model to the world. On the principles of prosperity,
secure future, better life, and simplicity, the central government is making the aspirational
middle class, middle class, and upper middle class the drivers of development…

PROSPERITY

The middle class is getting an More liquidity has also come
opportunity to prosper through in the form of lower EMIs for
inflation control. Annual inflation the aspirational middle-class
in the eight years between 2014 demographic. For example, the
and 2022 has been 4.6 percent, interest rate for education loans
compared to 8.7 percent in the available to students in May
eight years before that period. 2014 was 14 percent, which has
Despite several global crises, the come down to around 8 percent
consumer price index stood at 5.7 by December 2022. This made it
percent in December 2022, which easier for middle-class families
was much lower than in many to take more loans for the higher
G-20 countries. education of their children.

The One Country-One Tax (GST) initiative has
resulted in gross savings of an estimated Rs
18 lakh crore, which translates into annual
household savings of Rs 12,000.

Out of 38 crore beneficiaries of
PM Mudra Yojana, 12 crores were
middle-class people who got Rs
7 lakh crore in the form of loans
without collateral. Strong fiscal
policies and strengthening of
the banking system resulted in a
reduction in NPAs from 11.1 percent in
2017-18 to 5.8 percent in 2022-23.

16 New India Samachar March 16-31, 2023