New Delhi, April 19 The importance of the middle class appears to have also come to the fore in the BJP campaign for the Lok Sabha polls with the focus on opening more IITs, IIMs, AIIMS for creating better job openings and continued push for economic reforms being highlighted as a major priority.
The middle class has been a major beneficiary of the economic growth that has taken place in the last 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government and the party seems to be extending its outreach to this segment, which plays a key role in driving the nation ahead.
The surge in the manufacturing sector under the productivity-linked incentive (PLI) schemes has led to a whopping Rs 1.03 lakh crore of investment flowing in till November 2023 and created as many as 6.78 lakhs in the skilled sector, benefiting the highly educated middle class.
PLI schemes have witnessed exports surpassing Rs 3.20 lakh crore, with significant contributions from sectors such as large-scale electronics manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and telecom and networking products, according to Commerce Ministry data.
Keeping in view India's vision of becoming 'Atmanirbhar', PLI schemes for 14 key sectors [with an incentive outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore (over $26 billion)] are under implementation to enhance India's manufacturing capabilities and exports which will create more job opportunities for the graduates passing out of engineering institutes and universities of the country.
The incentives given to startups has been another major area to empower the middle class.
At the Startup Mahakumbh held in Delhi recently, PM Modi said: "The youth of the country have chosen the path of becoming job creators rather than job seekers.
"Today, India is the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. Whereas in 2014 there were not even a few hundred startups in the country, today there are about 1.25 lakh registered startups in India. And about 12 lakh youth are directly associated with them. We have over 110 unicorns," the Prime Minister highlighted.
The middle class, which constitutes a major segment of investors in the stock markets, has also emerged as a big gainer in the 10-year tenure of PM Modi-led government, with Indian stock markets consistently outperforming the stock exchanges of competing countries.
Statistics compiled by leading global financial agencies show that foreign investors pay a much higher premium to buy Indian shares as compared to other emerging markets.
This results in generating healthy returns for domestic investors since the value of their stocks shoots up.
The volatility of Indian stocks is also low which helps to give more assured returns and attract more investments.
In a significant milestone, the combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies surpassed a whopping Rs 400 lakh crore for the first time on April 8 this year.
This achievement came on the back of a sustained rally across large, mid and small-cap stocks with heavyweight stocks playing a major role in driving the surge.
Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said recently that despite a higher price to earnings (PE) ratio compared to other countries, India is attracting foreign investments because of the faith and trust that global investors have in the country.
The BJP election manifesto aims to empower the emerging neo-middle class in the country by supporting them with affordable quality housing and healthcare, greater access to quality education, and more employment opportunities.
The manifesto states that the RERA Act will be strengthened as it has helped make the real estate sector in the country more transparent and citizen-friendly.
It also highlights that there would be a greater focus on the modern road network, enhanced rail and metro connectivity with new-age trains and expanded networks, development of comprehensive EV charging stations, construction of new airports, and advanced telecom infrastructure with 5G and 6G technology.
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