100 days of Modi Sarkar

New Delhi: The newly-elected Narendra Modi government has completed its 100 days in office. While 100 days are too small timeframe to judge a government which has won the mandate to rule India for 5 years, there have been some decisions and incidents since May 26 which show that Modi indeed means business while others reveal that he also needs to guard against certain pitfalls. 

 

HITS:

 

1) Quick decision making and austerity measures: Within days of assuming power the Modi government scrapped 19 Groups of Ministers and eight Empowered Groups of Ministers. The rationale behind doing away with these bodies was to ensure fast decision making. Planning Commission, which for the over six decades has been the apex body deciding distribution of resources, has also been shut down. Taking his mission to have less government and more governance Modi has directed the ministers and top bureaucrats to put in all their efforts in reviving the faltering economy and business confidence. Late comers have been taken to task by several ministers many of whom have been putting in more than 12 hours in their offices.

 

2) Reaching out to neighbours: All SAARC nation heads were invited for the Modi government swearing-in which sent out a strong signal that the NDA government was keen on engaging with India’s neighbours. Modi visited Bhutan and also became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Nepal in 17 years. Modi has also visited Japan to strengthen historical and business ties.

3) Initiative for model villages: Modi has announced several steps to make India’s villages self-sufficient and clean. A toilet in every home is one of the steps that can go a long way in making our villages a better place to live. During the Independence Day speech Modi asked MPs to build toilets for girls and women using their MPLAD funds.

4) Digital India: In a bid to ensure speedy delivery of services, Modi has initiated steps to create will a digital cloud and digital locker. Attestation of documents by gazetted officers has been stopped and self -attestation introduced.

5) Using social media to improve governance: Modi is an avid social media user and has ensured that his government and ministers, too, have become active on them. Twitter has become the primary source of information about government plans and schemes.

6) Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana: This scheme has the potential to really define the working of the NDA government. Modi has promised that his government will ensure every citizen has a bank account and launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. On the very first day, a massive 1.5 crore bank accounts were opened across the country.

7) Namami Ganga: This river is the most sacred in India and Modi represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha which is on the banks of Ganga. In a bid to clean up the Ganga Rs 2,037 crore have been allotted. A NRI fund for conservation of Ganga will also be set up.

8) Bullet trains:  Foreign direct investment cap has been raised to 100% for railways in a bid to improve the creaking infrastructure. The idea of bullet train has caught the fancy of India which has a slow and dangerous railway system. During Modi’s visit Japan has decided to fund bullet trains and will provide financial, technical and operational support for the same.

9) Defence: India is the largest importer of arms and ammunition in the world. In spite of having a large military equipment manufacturing complex, Indian forces still have several obsolete weapons systems. The government has raised FDI to 49% for defence projects. Modi has already dedicated India’s largest warship INS Vikramaditya, an aircraft carrier, and the largest indigenously built warship INS Kolkata to the nation even though these were finalised during the previous UPA regime.

10) Tackling black money: A special investigation team headed by Justice (retired) MB Shah to unearth black money has been set up.

 

MISSES:

1) Debate over Article 370: An unnecessary controversy erupted when Minister of State in PMO Jitender Singh said that the government was willing to debate Article 370 which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir. After facing criticism the Minister of State for Jome Kiren Rijiju told in the Lok Sabha that there was no plan to repeal Article 370.

2) Union Budget: A lot was expected from the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. While it was a balanced budget, but there were no major announcements on kick starting the economy. There were no tax reforms and no clarity on retrospective taxes.

3) Inflation: Prices of essential commodities are still high and a poor monsoon will put more strain on Indian economy. If rains fail then prices are likely to shoot up again putting the government in a tight spot once again.

4) Controversy over Smriti Irani and Nihalchand: While Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani was targeted for providing wrong information about her educational qualification, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Nihalchand Meghwal’s name came up in a rape case.

5) Promotion of Hindi and language bias row in UPSC Civil Services exam: Modi government’s decision to promote Hindi as the medium of communication on social media came in for a lot of criticism from non-Hindi speaks states and regional parties. Celebrating Sanskrit week in CBSE schools, too, became a bone of contention. Then came the alleged bias against Hindi and regional languages in UPSC Civil Services examination.

6) Judicial Accountability Bill: Modi government’s decision to scrap the collegium system and pass the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill which will put in place a new method to appoint and elevate High Courts and Supreme Court judges were not to the liking of the judiciary. The new system is seen as interference by the government in judicial process.

7) Transfer/sacking of governors: Whenever there is a change in the Centre, the governors are the first casualty and this time also it was no different. The Centre transferred and also hinted at several UPA appointed governors to resign which led to a lot of accusation and counter accusation.

8) Border tension: The government has failed to stop ceasefire violations by Pakistan at the Line of Control and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir. There have been an almost daily instance of firing from Pakistan’s side and some Indian soldiers and civilians have been killed. Chinese soldiers also intruded into the Indian territory in the Ladakh area, showing that the “act tough” stand of the Centre is yet to make much difference.

The Modi government also called off Foreign Secretary-level talks after some Kashmiri separatists leaders from Hurriyat met Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit.