Not possible to beware of false prophets.

"India's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow at 5% in FY20, a 11-year low, the Central Statistical Office (CSO) said in its first advanced estimate released on Tuesday. The forecast is even more worrying on the revenue collection front, as nominal GDP growth is expected to fall to 7.5%, the lowest since FY76." "The slowdown is a result of deceleration in both private consumption and investment. Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) is expected to grow at 5.8%, the lowest since FY14, while Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) growth, a metric of investment activity has collapsed to less than 1%, the lowest since FY03." "As per the 'Key indicators: Household Consumer Expenditure in India' survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the average monthly spending by an individual fell to Rs 1,446 in 2017-18 from Rs 1,501 in 2011-12, down 3.7 percent." "India's grocery consumption basket shrank by an average 5 kg per household in the twelve months ended September from a year earlier, although they spent slightly more overall." "Both in GDP and Gross Value Added (GVA), it is only government-related heads -- government final consumption expenditure and public administration, defence and other services -- which have shown higher growth than last year, which suggests that the entire private sector is caught in the slowdown." Should be easy, just increase government spending. "The government is likely to reduce spending for the current fiscal year by as much as Rs 2 lakh crore ($27.82 billion) as it faces one of the biggest tax shortfalls in recent years, three government sources said." One day back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged private industry to invest "in a transparent environment without fear, without hindrance". But, a couple of days before that he urged tax officials to meet their collection targets despite a cut in corporate tax rates. Corporate tax rate was slashed by 10% in September, which means tax officials have to extort 10% more in taxes in a falling economy. No one wants to write a final letter like VG Siddharth, which said, "There was a lot of harassment from the previous DG income tax..." "While investors appreciate lower tax rates, tax certainty plays a crucial role, especially as tax disputes can be locked up in courts for years together," wrote Lubna Kably. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a plan to invest Rs 102 trillion in infrastructure projects in the next 5 years. But projects are never completed on time, wrote N Ramachandran. "This inability to deliver large-scale projects, even allowing for reasonable delay is not a recent Indian phenomenon." "This delivery deficit is not restricted to technically challenging projects such as Zoji La and Chenab. The Kathipara junction flyover in Chennai, a simple grade separator, took nearly 10 years (with eight overflow years and repeated cost overruns) to reach completion." "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." If only we could.