Hard work no comparison to Harvard

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today delivered his sharp riposte: “Hard work is more powerful than Harvard”. The dig comes a day after GDP data showed that the overnight ban on the two highest value notes in November did not affect growth rate, rather the figures improved.

“On one hand are those  who talk of what people at Harvard say and on the other hand is a poor man’s son who through his hard work is trying to improve the economy,” the Prime Minister said, addressing a large gathering.

Data released yesterday showed that despite the notes ban, India’s economy clocked a much better-than-expected growth rate of 7 per cent in the December quarter, cementing its place as the fastest growing economy. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 6.4 per cent growth for the October-December period.

Last month, Amartya Sen, Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University, called the notes ban an “unguided missile fired unilaterally without regard to democratic norms”. He also described it as a “despotic action that has struck at the root of economy based on trust”.
PM Modi’s announcement, which wiped out 86 per cent of the cash in circulation and left millions scrambling for cash, was pitched as a colossal step to choke tax evaders.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said GDP data “belies exaggerated claim by many that rural sector was in distress”. Agricultural growth, he said, is at a record high.