Indian economy is not in good shape is obvious: Manmohan Singh

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) A day before the Economic Survey is tabled in Parliament, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday released a document detailing the current scenario of the Indian economy, which he said was not in good shape and cited the IMF which projected a 6.6 per cent economic growth in the current fiscal.

Manmohan Singh, a former Governor of the RBI, has been critical of the Narendra Modi government's decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.

"Tomorrow is the day when the government will present its economic survey. We thought it a good idea that we should also bring out a document which sets out what we consider is the real state of the economy.

"So that the country as a whole has the ways and means of assessing where the economy is, where it is heading to and what can be done to bring on the right path," said Manmohan Singh unveiling the "Real State of Economy", prepared by the Congress.

"The Indian economy is not in good shape is now obvious. The IMF has projected that the growth rate of India this current fiscal year will not be 7.6 per cent but 6.6 percent. Several other agencies have made similar projections," said Manmohan Singh.

"I will not comment on those projections, it is for you assess what the truth is. This is a contribution to the ongoing debate on where are economy stands, where it is heading to and what is to be done to pull it in the right path," he added.

Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, meanwhile, said the previous United Progressive Alliance government had delivered an average of 8.5 per cent growth in the first five years. "Over a 10 year period we delivered GDP growth averaging 7.5 per cent. UPA lifted 140 million people out of poverty. I think every government must try to emulate these achievements," said Chidambaram.

The "Real State of Economy" highlights that the most crucial deficit facing India is job deficit.

"The BJP is hiding behind a GDP number which is being challenged. People aren't dazzled by it, but are asking where are the jobs," added Chidambaram.

"People are asking where is the new capital investment. Where are the businesses getting support? In the quarter July-September only 77,000 jobs were created out of which 50,000 were government," he added.

Congress MP Rajeev Gowda, who was instrumental in preparing the document, said: "In 2010, 11 lakh new jobs were created. It has fallen to an abysmal 1.35 lakh jobs under the Modi government."

"New investment proposals have been dropping in last few years. Many startups have been forced to shut down because of poor policies of the government," he added.

He also pointed out that only a fraction of what should be spent on Swachh Bharat is being spent by the government. "How can it achieve anything?" he asked.

"Investment in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is falling. This can be seen in the school enrolment numbers," Gowda said.