Modi Government: Top Achievements After Coming To Power

By Deepak Parvatiyar

June 25, 2015

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Published in elections.in (http://www.elections.in/blog/modi-government-top-achievements-after-coming-to-power/)

First some statements by the members of the ruling conglomeration at the Centre:

• 1. “We have a stable government and a PM (Prime Minister) who takes decisions on his own and implements them on his own”–Sanjay Raut of Shiv Sena – a constituent of the ruling National Democratic Alliance.
• 2. “The biggest achievement of this regime is that the government is visible on the ground. The government has been prompt in responding, and is seen to be acting in any emergency, be it the floods in Jammu and Kashmir, earthquakes in Nepal or crisis in Yemen” – Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah.
• 3.  “(Our) Achievements have to be seen with reference to the past… Is there a policy paralysis anymore? No. Is there a transparency issue? No. Is there stagnancy in governance? No. Instead, there is dynamism” – Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in an interview to Hindustan Times).

No dispute over these assertions and undoubtedly Modi heads a stable government that is taking decisions. One of the earlier decisions of the government was to disband various ministerial groups that were in existence previously, for faster decision-making. Today, Modi calls the shots and is well in command (His detractors even call him a dictator!). While he has taken many controversial decisions (refer to http://www.elections.in/blog/top-controversies-under-modi-government/), there are many good steps too, by his government. But before dwelling on them, let it be clear that the criteria to measure the success of any democratically elected government are largely based on its policies with regard to economy, socio-politics, foreign affairs, and transparency (how the government manages communications with the electorate).

Economy

• 1. The ‘Make in India’ initiative, the thrust on skill development, and Modi’s efforts to invite foreign investment in the country could reap good benefits in future. These steps could well encourage entrepreneurship.
• 2. Steps such as raising foreign equity cap in defence, insurance and pension sectors to 49 percent and 74 percent in case of technology transfer; nod for IPOs/FPOs by banks to raise funds, as long as government equity remains 52 percent or over; and approval for real estate and infrastructure investment trusts, with tax benefits are growth-oriented and the finance minister feels a 10 per cent growth rate is possible.
• 3. The government has introduced single-window scheme for various clearances to steel, coal and power projects.
• 4. Already India has left behind China in terms of GDP growth, and the United States of America in terms of steel production.
• 5. There has been a transparency in coal and spectrum auctions. Through coal auction more than Rs. 3 lakh crore have already been generated for the less developed states of India.
• 6. This year’s Railway budget was reform-oriented policy document – a marked departure from the earlier practice of playing to the gallery. 100 per cent foreign equity in rail infrastructure has been allowed and $ 130 billion has been the proposed spending on railways over five years on schemes including high-speed trains. These initiatives are slated to have a positive impact on infrastructure.
• 7. To boost up rural economy, steps have been initiated such as price stabilisation fund for agri-commodities to check inflation;
• 8. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana for rural irrigation
• 9. Soil Health Card scheme to enhance farm productivity and reduce expenses, thereby enhancing the farmer’s income.

Socio-Politics

• 1. Financial inclusion through Jan Dhan Yojana and Mudra Bank. Under the ambitious Jan Dhan Yojana, more than 14 crore bank accounts have already been opened for financial inclusion. Under the scheme over 10 crore RuPay debit cards issued, with life cover, pension to the poor.
• 2. The Mudra bank, launched with Rs.20,000 crore corpus for financing small vendors and businesses, would extend loans between Rs.50,000 and Rs.10 lakh to six crore mall entrepreneurs, 61 per cent of whom are SCs, STs, OBCs and Minorities.
• 3. Introduction of three mega Social Security schemes —Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana” (accident insurance), “Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana” (life insurance) and “Atal Pension Yojana”.
• 4. Introduction of Aadhaar-based digital life certificates called Jeevan Pramaan for pensioners to simplify the process of pension payments.
• 5. The distribution of the LPG subsidy through direct bank transfers is expected to remove hoarding and black marketing of cooking gas cylinders and would help the poor. The direct-cash-benefit transfer scheme is expected to result in a potential saving of $5billion annually in subsidies.
•  6. Swachh Bharat –Modi announced about his Swachh Bharat mission from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15th August last year and he chose Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary to launch the mission. Unlike the earlier such sanitation programmes such as Nirmal Bharat sanitation programme, the Modi government has sought to make it a mass movement with active participation of the corporate sector. The World Bank too, would  invest $1 bn in Swacch Bharat campaign.
• 7. Digital India — The Rs. 500 crore plan to make India digital by 2019 covers e-governance, broadband for all, IT-enabled education and telemedicine. The government has already initiated biometric attendance in government offices. Delivery of government services through a unified portal has been planned under it.

Foreign Affairs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s highly acclaimed foreign policy initiatives faced the first litmus test recently in the realm of realpolitik. Despite the new-found bonhomie between the top leadership of India and China ever since Modi’s ascension to power in New Delhi, Beijing at the UN Sanctions Committee, blocked India’s move to seek action against Pakistan over the release of the 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Sakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

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Obviously, a hard lesson for Modi to learn during his formative years as India’s Prime Minister. His thrust on developing personal chemistry with top international leaders – Chinese President Xi Jinping included – failed to yield the desired result.

The same had happened with the US President Barrack Obama, too. They hugged, referred to each other with their first names, and Obama even wrote an ostensibly flattering piece on Modi in Time magazine. But when it came to hard-core diplomacy, Obama did not hesitate to warn that “India will succeed as long as it’s not splintered along religious lines”— an expression, that many commentators interpreted as an attribution to Modi’s right wing political background.  Back in the USA, a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom—which provides high-level policy recommendations to the government – went on to question the Modi-led government’s very ability to ensure religious and communal harmony in India.  Obama himself described India as “a place where, in past years, religious faiths of all types have, on occasion, been targeted…”

“Dealing with a hegemonistic nation like US or countries like Pakistan, which create nuisance is a big task. Even President Barack Obama greets the PM in Gujarati,” Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was quoted as saying. This statement says it all about the complexities involved and Modi government’s foreign policy initiatives.

No doubt that the government’s thrust on building bridges with the neighbouring countries, and developing India’s global credibility in terms of politics, governance and economy, are good steps. Modi himself visited 18 countries including China, Japan and the USA within a year of coming to power.

The efforts are laudable and despite some roadblocks (refer to the above mentioned instances), India has managed to draw global attention with renewed interest — global institutions like the IMF, OECD and others are predicting even better growth potential in the coming months and years. “India is, thus, back on the global radar,” Modi claims. He points out that India was at the point of being dropped from BRICS, but “Now, the faith has been restored-there…”

Besides, the success to use the United Nations forum to declare June 21 as World Yoga Day and subsequently its grand commemoration further elevated India’s position on the world stage. To make the inaugural event successful, people of Indian origin across the globe played a vital role. Already, the Modi government had done enough for them by merging their PIO’s (persons of Indian origin) into OCI (overseas citizen of India) cards to offer them a distinct Indian identity.

Transparency

The Prime Minister’s move to address the nation via radio on a regular basis on a Sunday has been a huge success. His ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has become popular and he does speak out to the citizens directly. His government uses the social media effectively, and Modi has selectively given interviews too, whenever required in the last one year.

What’s more? His ministers have in fact been more vocal than him – to the extent of loud mouthing their achievements! (refer to http://www.elections.in/blog/top-controversies-under-modi-government/)