Modinomics: His Journey So Far As The Prime Minister Of India

As the Narendra Modi-led government completes 100 days in office, it has been characterised by a difference in the functioning of the government. There have been quick decisions and timely clearances of projects. The previous Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had a different style of functioning. Instead of timely clearing the projects, it preferred setting up Group Of Ministers (GOMs) and Empowered Group Of Ministers (EGOMs), which led to much delay. But the Modi government has done away with this time-taking approach.

Modi's ascent to power was a paradigm shift in Indian politics as it was for the first time that a non-Congress party could garner a majority in the Lok Sabha on its own. While 100 days is not enough to evaluate a government, the early signs show that Modi indeed means business.

Working on his mission of “less government and more governance,” Modi scrapped 19 GOMs and eight EGOMs. The logic behind this move was to fast track the decision-making process. Planning Commission, the highest body to decide the distribution of national resources, has also been done away with.

Modi, in his Independence Day speech, vowed to ensure that every citizen gets a bank account and launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. On its very first day, 1.5 crore bank accounts were opened across the country.

The Modi government also constituted a special investigation team headed by Justice (retired) MB Shah to look into the issue of black money.

As far as foreign relations are concerned, Modi visited Bhutan and also became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Nepal in 17 years. He is currently on Japan visit to boost business ties.

However, there have also been some not-so-good moves by his government and it has come under fire for the same. Continuing with the Congress’ tradition of changing the governors, the Modi government, too, nudged several UPA-appointed governors to resign and transferred those who did not do so.

Another reported move of the Modi government to appoint former chief justice of India P Sathasivam as Governor has come under heavy criticism. Modi needs to guard against these pitfalls.