Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai claimed on Tuesday that unemployment figures were incorrect and no one in the country was losing their jobs, The Hindu reported. On May 31, the Centre released a report confirming that unemployment in the country stood at 6.1% of the total labour force in 2017-’18 – a 45-year high.

“The infrastructure is improving, big companies are investing in various sectors, agricultural production has improved and crores of people are taking loans under the MUDRA scheme,” Rai told reporters in Bhopal. “This shows employment is increasing.” The minister was in Bhopal on Tuesday to talk about the achievements of the government in the first 100 days of its second term, News18 reported.

Rai also claimed that India was on the way to becoming a $5 trillion economy. “There are some areas that need to be worked on and the government is making efforts to improve the situation,” he said. “The country’s economy is strong and will continue to be.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech had set a target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024.

Data released on August 31 showed that India’s economic growth rate had slipped to 5% in the April-June quarter, the lowest in over six years. On August 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a set of measures to prop up the economy, less than two months after presenting the Union Budget. The Reserve Bank of India also announced that it would give the Centre Rs 1.76 lakh crore of its dividend and surplus reserves.

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