It would not be wrong to say that India and even the entire world is seeing a hope for change in India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is regarded as a dynamic, hard working, able and a very assertive leader. Even experts compare him to world leaders and reformers like Margaret Thatcher, Deng Xiaoping, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ronald Reagan.
Supporters of Narendra Modi believe that he is a reformer and a person who can change India by pulling country out of corruption, inflation and declining economy.
What makes Modi different from other Indian leaders?
The BJP was in power between 1998 and 2004 and that too in alliance with smaller parties. This time the scenario was entirely different. The BJP won Lok Sabha election with full majority and the credit goes to energetic Narendra Modi. PM Narendra Modi is an excellent orator. He delivered powerful speeches during Lok Sabha campaigns and the trend still continues.
Have you seen any other Indian leader playing drums, mingling with children on Independence Day and who is a social media enthusiast? PM Narendra Modi owns all these qualities. No other leader from India except for Modi has received such a warm welcome in the USA. The NRIs living there were waiting for him and just wanted to have a glimpse of him like they wait for a superstar.
He is a development-oriented leader, full of vigour, new ideas and vision. He creates a bond with the common people very easily unlike other leaders.
Though the previous government has taken certain initiatives but a common man was not aware of all these. This time the public knows what the government is doing. It looks as if every law and policy from the papers have walked down into the reality and becoming part of our lives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government is working on poverty, inflation, cleanliness, beautification of cities and towns, better relationships with neighbouring countries and so on.
Modi’s government is acting very swiftly. Within three months Modi abolished the Planning Commission and taken many other significant steps.
It is even said that Modi is becoming a fashion icon in India like Pt Nehru. His Modi Kurta, a signature short-sleeved kurta, is already popular among the masses.
Important initiatives by Modi’s government
Make in India: A couple of days back Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a flagship “Make in India” campaign with an objective to make India a manufacturing superpower. In this campaign local and foreign companies were urged to invest in India. The Government has selected 25 sectors where India can beat the world. Major among these are automobiles, chemicals, IT, pharma, electronics, design manufacturing, mining, bio-technology, textiles, ports, aviation, leather, tourism and hospitality, wellness and railways. Ministers related to manufacturing are also participating in the “Make in India” campaign.
These 25 sectors will also focus on skill enhancement and job creation.
To make this campaign a success, the government has made plans to relax foreign investment caps in construction. This will boost participation of companies in the ‘100 smart cities’ project and affordable housing. The government has already made changes in the FDI caps in defence and railways and these have been eased to 49% and 100%, respectively.
The initiative will be a success if India can control its corruption.
Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan: One of the biggest problems in India is lack of sanitation facilities and cleanliness. The Narendra Modi Government is going to tackle this problem by launching Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The initiative will focus on cleanliness, waste management and sanitation across the country.
The first phase of the drive started on September 25 up to panchayat level and will last till Diwali.
Though a very good and needed initiative but cleanliness is not only the responsibility of the government but also the people. We must keep our surroundings clean to make Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan a success.
100 smart cities project: The government is planning to build 100 smart cities in India with the pilot project in Bangalore. Design and creation will be region specific. Smart cities will have 27×7 water supply and electricity. The cities will be free from garbage heaps. These cities will provide quality education and sports facilities. There will be open spaces for recreation and for healthy living.
Manufacturing companies are sensing good business opportunities and want to reap the benefits. Faridabad, Gurgaon, Delhi, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Dehradun, Haridwar, Kanpur, Jaipur, Gwalior, Bhopal, Indore, Lucknow, Varanasi, Bodh Gaya, Allahabad and Kochi are in the list of smart cities.
In the Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had allocated Rs 7,060 crore for the development of the smart cities.
Every Indian household to have a bank account: Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that every Indian household will have a bank account. Most of the poor people who do not have a bank account depends upon money lender for financial help. With this they enter into vicious cycle of debt. Modi launched a major initiative for providing bank account to every Indian. He wrote 725,000 emails to bank officials urging them to support the initiative.
Welfare benefits will be directly transferred to the bank account of the holder leaving no space for bribery and corruption. This will also reduce the influence of moneylenders.
Though such an initiative is not new in India but banks fail to provide services made for poor. Banks must target specific audience and its needs. The poor must have a regular source of income to pay back the loan if he takes from bank. So along with bank account, providing skill-based education and work becomes mandatory.
Industrial corridors:India needs well developed and connected roads, ports and infrastructure for the complete development and change in India.
To achieve this the government is working on many ambitious projects undertaking the development of infrastructure and roads in India. The Union finance minister in his budget speech proposed industrial corridors and 20 new industrial clusters.
Conclusion
Export is picking up giving a slight push to the economy. Experts also believe that the current account deficit is likely to decrease this fiscal year. Modi believes in “modernisation without Westernisation”. Though we are seeing some improvements in certain sectors, time only will tell if Modi can change India or not, whether he can make India a better place to live in.
Apart from all these changes India needs a complete transformation on its social front. Thinking how our government will tackle this and bring about a positive change…
