As the Modi government
completes 4 years of its first term in office and the nation braces itself for
the general elections next year, it is opportune moment to understand the inner
motivations of the Government that shape its policies and workings. The victory
of Narendra Modi led BJP in the 2014 general election was a tectonic shift in
Indian politics. The mandate was a rejection of incrementalism in favour of
transformative changes. Modi was voted to power on the promise of accelerating economic
growth, creating corruption free environment and achieving participative
development.
Economic
Philosophy: Modi government believes in being
fiscally responsible, increasing efficiency of government expenditure and makes
laws and policies that favour empowerment over entitlement.
Within the ambit of
this philosophy and guided by ‘Antyodaya’, government is unabashedly pro-poor. Committed
to address the challenge of slow economic growth and inequality, the government
is not dogmatic about the instruments that should be used. This a clear shift
from the policy of doles and entitlement followed by the UPA government.
Focus on infrastructure
spending and increased allocation for economically disadvantaged sections of
the society required higher governmental spending. Achieving this while at the
same time reducing fiscal deficit called for increasing the tax to GDP ratio.
Towards this goal, government implemented the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
which is the biggest tax reform since independence. GST has broadened the tax
base by creating a system where registration, filing, assessment, credit and
refund are all online with little scope for subjective intervention and
harassment.
Inflation is tamed and
fiscal deficit is controlled by the Government by taking strong policy
decisions. The government has tried to address all pervasive corruption through
steps like demonetization, direct benefit transfer (DBT), Jan Dhan Accounts, Benami
Properties Act and increased transparency in governmental working. Deregistration
of shell companies, renegotiation of bilateral tax treaties, Income Disclosure
Schemes (IDS) have been other steps in this direction. Business transactions through
banking channels are being encouraged so that they leave an audit trail.
Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has been one of the biggest reforms in the factors’ market.
Promoters of defaulter companies are facing a real challenge of losing control
over their companies. The successful resolution of the NPA of Bhushan Steel
Limited under the IBC is going to be a game-changer for the banking sector. Financial
Regulation and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill seeks to create an institutional
setup to resolve distress in financial institutions but is facing opposition from
Congress party.
The kleptocracy that
was UPA had led to a disappointment in the international community about the
future of India. A hallmark of current government’s foreign policy has been the
concerted attempt to dispel this image and to assure the global community that
India will realize its true potential. The trust of the global community is
vindicated by the ever rising foreign direct investments (FDI) in India.
Social
philosophy: When it comes to the social dimension of
its programs and policies Modi government believes in scale, speed and the
power of mass movement to realise the objective of Social upliftment.
Sanitation campaign
under the aegis of ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is to provide a life of dignity and
honour to the poor, irrespective of their religion, caste or gender. ‘Beti
bachao Beti padhao’ initiative of the government seeks to provide equality of
status and opportunity to our daughters. The government has been successful in
creating awareness and public participation.
Modi Government’s stand in the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of
triple talaq flowed from its conviction that the practice was unconscionable
and did grave injustice to Muslim women.
Political
philosophy: ‘Sabka saath sabka vikas’ which loosely
translates as a government that enjoys the support of every section of the
society and that works for the development of all, is the credo of Modi
government.
Modi government is not guided
by narrow electoral considerations. The difference with the working of the
Congress led UPA is too obvious to be missed. The Congress government during
the period of 2004-2014 tried to institutionalize the cleavages of the Indian
society with the hope to reap electoral gains. It made all attempts to pass a
‘Communal Violence Bill’ that was manifestly against the Hindus as was the
Right to Education Act which exempted only minority educational institutions
from its ambit, creating an incentive for various sects to dissociate from
Hinduism. The UPA government has also constituted Sachar Committee for Muslims
and was trying to make changes which it clearly knew to be unconstitutional. A
completely fabricated narrative by the name of ‘Saffron terror’ was sought to
be developed by Congress government in order to consolidate Muslim votes.
Modi government
believes that responsive and effective governance also ensures electoral
success. Thus so far as the government is concerned it should respect the
mandate of the people by focusing on doing its job. It also firmly believes
that good economics is good politics. Unlike the earlier governments, Modi
government has not created vested interest for limited number of people in its
continuation. The government has created higher benchmarks and evaluation
matrix for fixing accountability and is willing to defend its performance. The
success of BJP in the state elections since 2014 bear testimony to the fact
that Modi government is reaping political rewards for its
work at the centre.
Gopal Krishna Agrawal
National Spokesperson
of BJP on economic affairs
gopal.agarwal@bjp.org
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