Several social media users have mocked Raghuram Rajan claiming that the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India said that India should be in a recession to show "inclusivity".
BOOM found the claim to be false as the said remark stems from a satire website
BOOM contacted Rajan, currently a professor of finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, who said that he did not make these comments.
Raghuram Rajan, a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 2013 and 2016 , also served as Chief Economist at the International Monetary Fund.
The Fauxy, a satirical website, published an article on September 2, 2022 titled, 'India will be cornered if it doesn't get hit by recession like rest of the world: Raghuram Rajan'.
In the article, Fauxy claims to have spoken to Rajan who provided them with a quote stating, "India must get hit by a recession to show inclusivity".
Screenshot of The Fauxy story
The website has been called out in the past for spreading misinformation under the garb of satire. Those stories can be read here, here and here.
Several right-wing social media users have taken The Fauxy's article at face value and have further spread the misleading claim. Tweets and Facebook posts sharing the misleading claim can be seen below.
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"The Fauxy is an entertainment portal. The content of this website is purely for entertainment purpose and readers are advised not to confuse the articles of The Fauxy as genuine and true", a disclaimer on the website states.
Disclaimer on The Fauxy's website
The Fauxy makes satirical posts on developments in Indian politics, business and industry. We also found several of these stories to have made up quotes attributed to leading personalities for comic value, examples of which are listed below.
- 'Starbucks to link Coffee with Aadhar to ensure Correct Spelling of Names on Coffee Cups', where it has a supposed quote has been taken from the chain's new CEO Laxman Narsimham
- 'Ghulam Nabi Azad to Drop his First Name After Resigning From Congress', where The Fauxy carries a made-up quote from former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azaa
- 'Pakistan to Take $3 Trillion Loan to Replace India from 5th Position of World Largest Economies', where it has a made-up quote from the new Pakistani Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, who says that along with the loan, they "have Fawad Khan", a prominent actor.
Recessions in store globally
The globally accepted definition of a recession is when a country's economy witnesses two successive quarters of negative growth - or when the economy becomes smaller and decelerates instead of growing and becoming larger.
Several economies in the world - both developing and developed - are predicted to enter a recession in the months ahead. This would be the second recession for a number of economies in a span of three years.
A Bloomberg survey has shown several Indo-Pacific economies having a high probability of entering a recession: Sri Lanka (85%); New Zealand (33%); South Korea and Japan (25%); China, Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan and Pakistan (20%) are among the handful of the economies on which the survey was conducted. India's recession probability in this survey stands at 0%, implying that India is unlikely to see a recession. This can be read here.
Similar forecasts have also been shown for larger economies. Bloomberg predicts that the United States has a 50% probability of witnessing a recession next year. For the United Kingdom, a recession may come even sooner - towards the end of the year - and may last five quarters, according to the Bank of England.
While these factors have caused credit rating agencies and research houses to cut India's growth, the Indian economy is still predicted to grow 7.2% this financial year, according to the RBI.
Previously, BOOM has debunked claims where Rajan was rumoured to take over the reigns of the Bank of England as its governor.
Also Read: 'Very Happy With My Current Job': Raghuram Rajan Busts Fake News Of Bank Of England Appointment