The Indian economy grew faster than expected during the last quarter of the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2024, registering a provisional growth rate of 8.2% for the full financial year. This was undoubtedly a cause for celebration for those in power, who were eagerly awaiting the formation of the government once again.

Our growth is definitely outpacing many other major economies. In fact, a tweet by G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant mentions that "India is now the fastest growing economy in the world." Last year, India surpassed the UK to become the fifth-largest economy. According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, "it is on track to overtake Japan and Germany and hit the third spot by 2027."

Now, all this sounds so great to hear. Of course, it will be a matter of pride if we surpass all major economies to become number three globally. But does it make any difference for the common man who struggles daily to make a living? Ask any rickshaw puller, farmer, or daily wage worker about this, and you will receive similar answers from them.

"India aage badh raha hai khushi ki baat hai, lekin hamari zindagi mein koi farak nahi hai... aaj bhi 10 rupaye hi le sakte hai sawaari se hum.. 3 km jane ke liye.. jaha 10 se 15 karenge, waha sawaari milna mushkil ho jayega. Pichhle dus saal se rickshaw chala rahe hai hum.. kiraya nhi badha payein hain hum (It certainly makes us happy that India is growing. But it does not affect us. Even today, we charge Rs. 10 from a passenger for a ride of 3 km. The moment we increase it to Rs. 15, people will hesitate to ride with us. For the last ten years, I have been driving an e-rickshaw, and I could not increase the fare)," laments an e-rickshaw driver in the National Capital.

The daily wages for various categories of workers have been increasing consistently over the last several years. In fact, the government has been revising them every six months. But how many people get paid based on criteria fixed by the government? Be it Delhi or any other state, barring Kerala, daily wage workers or casual labourers struggle to get work and fair wages.

It is usual to see a group of people sitting in a specific place in almost every city, usually called a labour chowk, hoping they will get some work. What kind of money do they typically get paid? Can they even bargain for better wages, especially when they know they may not get work throughout the day if they refuse to work for the money offered?

Those who work per job in factories are in the same boat. The unorganised sector is highly unregulated. It is an uphill task for a country of 1.4 billion people to govern and ensure that laws are implemented in letter and spirit. The stricter the legislation, the more ways are invented to violate it with impunity.

Then, gig workers get work through various app-based businesses and are usually termed partners, executives, etc. How much do you think these people get paid for their work? Ask any app driver, and you will know they are paid after deducting a hefty commission ranging from 15% to 40% depending on the company!

It is usual to see these drivers using multiple apps to get enough work during the day. On average, a gig worker, be it an app-based driver, a delivery partner, or anyone engaged with e-commerce companies, has to work for hours together, sometimes even 16 hours a day, to earn some money to take care of their day-to-day expenses. Do they get covered by any kind of social security scheme? Unfortunately, no. They are not even recognised as workers under any legislation.

The small enterprises that form the country's backbone have been facing the heat of certain decisions haphazardly taken by the government. "Sara din intezaar karne ke baad koi grahak aata hai. Din ke agar 500 rupaye ki bhi sale ho jaye to tassali ho jati hai ki kam se kam kiraya to nikaal payenge dukaan ka. Tyohaar pe hi kuch munafa ho pata hai. Roz marra mein to bas ghar ka kharch aur dukaan ka kiraya nikal jaye itna bhi kaafi hai. Kya karein ji aisi growth ka agar ek din dukaan band karne ke bare mein bhi nahi soch sakte apni family members ke sath samay bitaane ke liye (After waiting for the entire day, I feel happy if I am able to sell goods even worth Rs. 500, as I would be able to pay the rent of the shop I have. We can only think of profit during the festival season. On a daily basis, if we earn just enough to take care of the household expenses and the shop rent, we feel privileged. What can we do with the country's growth if we cannot even think of closing our shop for a day to be with our family members)?" laments a small shopkeeper from a small town in Punjab.

This is the case with small farmers, who struggle to get a minimum support price (MSP) for crops like wheat. They hardly have any bargaining power as the market is in the hands of those with resources. For small farmers, the bigger concern is to ensure that they are able to harvest their crops and sell them in the shortest possible time to avoid any further damage. The government currently announces MSP for 23 crops to technically ensure a minimum of 50% return on the cost of cultivation of these crops. However, these prices act as a benchmark, are not legally enforced, and cannot be demanded as a matter of right.

In other words, growth for an average farmer would have a similar definition to that for a casual worker, a daily-wage worker, or a rickshaw puller in urban areas. Their struggle begins from the day they sow their crop, ensuring good quality seed, enough water supply at the right time, fertilisers, etc. Despite their efforts, their fate depends largely on the weather and the local market forces.

For the youth, the biggest struggle is to get a remunerative job. In January, when we saw hundreds of thousands of young men standing in long queues outside government recruitment centres in Lucknow in UP to get a job in the construction industry in Israel, things should have become amply clear.

The youth's desperation to get jobs is real. It is not unusual to see well-educated youth, even postgraduates with management degrees, applying for the job of a peon in a public sector enterprise! We hear such news on and off. In fact, India has remained stagnant over the last two decades if one goes by the data published by the ILO recently.

A recent report shows that among all unemployed people, the share of educated youth has increased from 54.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022. There's also been no significant growth in real wages in India since 2014. In fact, in one of the recent interviews, the World Bank's regional economists mentioned that India "risks squandering its demographic dividend"—the economic growth potential from a big working-age population.

In other words, increasing GDP does not mean real growth for our country. Real growth will happen when people from the bottom of the pyramid witness a significant shift in their economic status. The rest is just a mirage. The new government should look beyond the usual datasets to measure the country's growth! It should work to achieve equitable growth across all sectors and all sections of society. Our policies should not work to ensure the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few.