100 Days of Modi

By  Ishita Gopal

Edited by  Shambhavi Singh, Senior Editor,The Indian Economist

As ‘100 days of Modi’ drew near, people started to get excited at the prospect of analyzing and scrutinizing NDA’s performance. Even though it seems ridiculous to expect much from a government only 100 days old, the Modi government has outdone itself yet again.

So, let us look at the government’s report card sector wise.

Economic Sector

In a survey conducted by the Economic Times, in which 50 top CEOs of our country participated, our PM’s rating had been shown to be an impressive 7.3 out of 10. The sentiment in the market has been palpably positive which can be seen in the grand projections of stock market reaching an unprecedented 30-35,000 by December next year. CEOs have also confirmed revenue and output growth which indicates end of slump in economic growth caused by bad policies in the last 10 years. All this shows upswing in the mood of the economy which is good news.

Foreign Affairs Sector

This sector has seen the maximum number of changes since the earlier government. From being dormant, India has now become a dynamic and forceful participant in global affairs.

SAARC :

Inviting all SAARC heads to the PM’s swearing in ceremony sent a strong signal of the desire to bolster international relations.

Bhutan :

Modi’s first diplomatic visit was to Bhutan. The visit indicated that neighboring countries will enjoy high priority.

BRICS :

This annual summit had been deemed useless by many analysts as member countries were frequently roiled in internal conflicts. But this time incredible progress was made in this mere 2 day conference. The decision to set up the New Development Bank was made, and even though it was voted that the headquarter would be built in China, its first president is slated to be from India.

Other issues were also discussed- like zero tolerance towards terrorism, India-China border issue, and nuclear deal with Russia etc. All in all, it was a fruitful summit which had not been the case for the past many years.

Pakistan :

Invitation extended to Nawaz Sharif was also a significant move to break the ice between India and Pakistan that had been constant since 26/11. Even though Pakistan did what it does best and double crossed by meeting separatist leaders, prior to the foreign secretary level talks, the government’s effort to solve issues through cooperation rather than confrontation should be lauded.

And now with all the back stabbing and cease fire violations Modi has bluntly hit out against Pakistan. This reveals an important policy that while the new government is friendly, it will not tolerate breach of diplomatic trust.

Social Welfare Sector

WTO :

Never in the history of international dialogue has India stood up for itself like it did during the recent WTO Meet in July. The message was loud and incisive that no developed nation can pressurize India into accepting policies that could potentially harm its citizens. India stood adamantly against developed giants like the US, in protection of its poor farmers who would have suffered if the Trade Regulation policies had been implemented.

Jan Dhan Yojana:

The main purpose of this policy is to aim at the poorest of the poor. It is to ensure eradication of ‘financial discrimination’- as quoted by Mr. Modi. Each family shall have a bank account with the facility of a debit card, insurance cover of 1 lac in case of medical and other emergencies, and an overdraft of Rs 5000.

Through this scheme the government hopes to save billions of rupees on social spending. By paying benefits directly into bank accounts, the scheme would seek to cut waste and corruption that inflate India’s $43 billion subsidy bill, equivalent to more than 2 per cent of its GDP, for handouts of grain, fuel and fertilizer.

The government also seeks to diminish the influence of money lenders who are responsible for much duress in the farmers’ lives.

This is an especially ambitious policy initiative and there are some concerns that the financial benefits might turn into a ‘bad loan’ kind of scenario, but the potential benefits still seem more than the costs.

Policies on the launch pad:

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana under which each Member of Parliament (MP) will choose and develop a small village in his constituency within a year as a model village so as to inspire surrounding areas to duplicate the result. These model villages are supposed to have example setting education and health facilities, sanitation, and cleanliness.

A nationwide cleanliness campaign will also be launched later this year.

Decentralization of power is also Modi’s pet project. He and his government believe that it is time to allocate increasing amount of power to the State Governments from the Central Government. The wheels have been set in motion regarding this as can be seen from transfer of labor law decisions to Rajasthan government.

E-governance, i.e, easy, effective, and economical governance is another area that the government is working towards.

There are many other policies that the government will unveil in the coming times. And I feel that if a new government that has not been in power for 10 years can show such a fulfilling and quick result in just 100 days, then certainly “ Ache Din” Aaynge!!

Ishita is a BA( hons) Economics student from Miranda House, Delhi University. She is a multitasker and likes to be involved in all kinds of cultural activities. Besides writing she loves playing Beethoven symphonies, choir practices ,and reading fantasy and fiction.She prefers doing research about a subject by first watching a documentary or two on it, and then reading a lot of articles from different newspapers.  Her dream job is to own a record label while doing freelance writing for a big magazine/newspaper.