There is a French maxim which says, ‘It is necessary to laugh in order not to cry’. The mirth on social media recently amplified this maxim and also proved it to the hilt. When our Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was queried by a scribe regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim of the Indian economy expanding to $5 trillion by 2024; and where growth should be 10 to 12% year on year as against 5% in the last quarter. The minister replied “Math never helped Einstein discover gravity”.
Sir Issac Newton who discovered gravity was an English mathematician and physicist – both pure sciences. Sir Issac Newton was one of the pioneers to invent calculus a way of describing how things change. This branch of mathematics called calculus would later be crucial for explaining, proving or disproving the various postulates of the Universe in mathematical terms; which he published in his magnum opus ‘Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy’.
Piyush Goyal has a sterling academic record, professionally he is a Charted Accountant, if accountancy and bookkeeping is not a branch of math what is? Ask any bank manager, until their account books tally they cannot call it a day. The math on the Debtor and Credit sides should balance to last paisa. I fail to understand how the minister can disregard a subject so callously that is his bread and butter, especially when some day he may not be a minister.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a compilation of various statistics (again which is a stream of mathematics) to charter the momentum of the economy. Gravity and GDP have everything to do with some stream of mathematics, if not in its pure form. One of the postulates of gravity is; ‘The force of attraction between you and the earth is your weight’ which is proved by a series of calculation in both mathematics and physics. A man weighing 100 kg on earth will weigh a mere 17 kg on the moon because of gravitational differences of the earth and the moon.
What the journalist intended to obliquely tell the minister rather than to ask him the question was that the GDP graph shows a natural gravitational spiral from a healthy 8.5% 18 months back to 5% in the last quarter.
The ‘gravity’ in the economy is because of demonetisation, faulty GST, faulty agro policy, poor capital formation leading to negligible investment, the prime wheels of growth: manufacturing, infrastructure and construction on a downslide, bank NPAs remains stagnant and export lagging by a huge quantum. What is required dear minister is an ‘Escape Speed’ a rocket in economic management that will make all the above enumerated indices ascend to a higher plane to boost employment and generate growth.
You cannot take the Indian economy to $5 trillion by 2024 by simply wishing to fly on a “Garuda’ as in ancient India.
The Minister has apologised for confusing Sir Issac Newton with Einstein which according to me is a minor gaffe. He should truly apologise for intellectual ignorance with regard to Math in its manifestations of gravity and GDP.
