The BJP government at the Centre enters its third year with a lot of improvements over the previous regime. However, there are still things that need to change in terms of governance
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Congratulations are in order as the BJP completes two years at the center. I recall the meeting a select group of businessmen had with the newly minted PM Modi. His body language screamed action and he rightly said, in a few days in office, he had created one thing for sure, hope. Everyone was hoping for a change, a change for the better. A change that focused on development.
It is easy to mix the performances of the BJP at the center and the BJP at the state level and get confused. The State BJP has had four years to deliver and have delivered a series of U turns successfully. At the center, first there has been a change in terms of decision making. We had got so used to silence from the PMO under the UPA that we almost began to believe it did not exist. Now, we actually have a PM who is speaking out, and one might add the world is giving him a standing ovation. He is leading by example.
Industry prefers infrastructure to subsidy and that is happening in a big way, roads and railways are on a roll, even shipping. The effect of this will be seen surely and surely. With Coal Gate behind, and coal auctions done, output is on the rise and thus power supply will improve. However, ease of doing business has not produced the desired results though efforts are being made. GST implementation will surely add to ease of doing business. The new taxes seems to be defeating the very concept of easing business; why can it not be just one tax? A strong focus on priming the economy with industrial growth is key. This is where the youth of India are interested most. A booming economy means jobs and meeting of aspirations.
Swach Bharat and Make in India are great initiatives across the country and given our attitude it will take more time to give fruit. Imagine a well-kept clean station and a train rolls in. The next instant from the windows passengers throw all sorts of garbage on the platform. The difference today because of the Swach Bharat mission atleast people are noticing. Garbage bins, treatment plants are being discussed and implemented at a rate unheard of before.
Right from day one, the foreign policy has been proactive and alive. It has also helped galvanise Indians living abroad to feel more connected to their homeland. While there are many critics to the foreign tours, it must be appreciated that they are grueling in terms of schedule and business only. The only distraction or sightseeing seem to be selfies.
An unfortunate and unnecessary blot was the flight of the King of Good Times. The good part is it has put the focus on bank defaults, the bane of banking system. How the government handles this will have a telling effect on their future performance. The banking sector taking big steps to improve. The Jhan Dhan scheme will surely go a long way in improving the access to the banking system of the marginalised. Also if everyone has an account and direct transfer of monetary benefits happens, it will surely plug the leakages that took place in earlier cash payment system.
Despite favorable oil prices we have not had the benefit of very good petrol and diesel prices. This is a sore point with the public at large. Possibly the fact that the US Dollar has been strengthening against the rupee could be the reason for the higher prices, but no explanation from the Government on this aspect. The rain Gods have not been kind but are expected to bless year three.
Education has and is taking some turns which seem wrong. If all was ok, we would not have the independents and intellectuals shouting. A lot of the Universities are stirred up. While this may actually reflect a power struggle to control campus politics, it is causing a lot of distress. Center -State relations are another key area, as the star campaigner and also Prime Minister, there are surely areas where the interests of the party and country clash and that needs better handling.
While development was the plank and anti-corruption the spring board for the successful campaign of PM Modi. He seems to be falling short in implementation. His promise to put 15 lacs in each ones account should be taken as a figure of speech. India is a country and not a company that pays dividend to its citizens. While thousands of crores have been reported to be saved which would otherwise have been pocketed by the corrupt, not a single conviction has been made of a corrupt person. The black money mopped up is more from schemes rather than unearthing and arresting. The figure of the mop up against the population will be now here close to the benchmark Rs 15 lacs per person. As the Shiv Sena says, “today a person is more scared to eat beef in this country than to be corrupt”.
Instead of a focus purely on development, there is a tendency to believe that the RSS has hijacked some areas and PM Modi is either unable to control them or is tacitly behind them. Both options will not hold him in good stead over the long term and he has to take visible steps to control the right wing hotheads if he has to cover himself and his party in glory in the next three years.
Blaise Costabir is an alumnus of the Asian Institute of Management and a first generation entrepreneur
