The last decade in Indian history will go down the memory lane as the ‘Modi era’. There has been a cycle of events — challenges, achievements, again challenges, neo challenges, challenges overcome and yet another set of achievements. The journey goes on. Importantly, it goes on amid hurdles — often created by vested interests– the NGOs, foreign players, political rivals and also major crises like Covid19. But India has not given up because the leadership under Modi ji has not given up.
A recent survey tells the obvious story of ‘Moditva’.In 2014, when question was out — Who would they prefer as the next Prime Minister — 35 percent respondents had said Narendra Modi.In 2023, to the same question people approving Shri Modi ji is 43 percent.
In terms of achievements, India climbed up six places in the World Bank’s Logistic Performance Index 2023, as investments in soft and hard infrastructure as well as technology helped the country improve its port performance. India is now ranked 38 in the 139 countries index, up from 44 in 2018.
India’s target is to be among the top 25 countries by 2030. On the other hand, another big achievement, according to the BBC, has been — “India has leapfrogged towardsbecoming a global leader in digital payments, thanks to a government-backed payment system.” Modi’s Jan Dhan scheme has enabled millions of unbanked poor families to enter the formal economy.
The mindset has changed and how people’s expectations have risen and given concrete shapes is the new story of ‘new India’.
Once corruption was a way of life. The murky deals have vanished. And wherever the wrongdoers exist, the law is taking its course. For the first time in the history of India, ministers are compelled to walk inside jails.
Repeated court directives and denial of bails by the wrongdoers make it clear that the law enforcing agencies and anti-corruption wings like the Enforcement Directorate and CBI are doing their jobs pretty well.
The exposure of huge cash in West Bengal and the unearthing of liquor scam under AAP government show the country has taken on a determined journey to fight the corruption menace.
On the big scale yet again, India has emerged as the fifth largest economy in the world. It can be safely crowned as a moment of glory for an emerging market country to beat an economic power like the UK.
As many as 3.5 crore pucca houses have been constructed for the country’s poor.
The large-scale construction of toilets across the country was another milestone. Even BJP’s rivals and critics endorsed PM’s Swachh Abhiyan. This is the first time in India’s history when the poor have security as well as dignity.
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The Indian agri scene has changed. The Indian farmer is now confidently eyeing the world as a marketplace for its wide-ranging products. Products from Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya are now much sought after in western countries. PM Modi ji has taken personal interest to tweet about Bhoot Jhalokia from Nagaland. Northeast India is no longer isolated, it is a growth engine and can do better always if we can ensure peace and political stability.
Modi ji ensured that most ministers and he himself visited the northeast regularly. Delhi reached the doorstep of the once isolated region. Shri Modi ji has become a sincere ambassador of ourregion projecting the people, our food and our culture.
There was a landmark decision to declare Bamboo as Grass. National Bamboo Mission gave a fresh impetus to the production of Bamboo based products.
The government has extended income support with PM Kisan with an assured cash transfer of Rs. 6,000 per year through Direct Benefit Transfer. This has enabled even small and marginal farmers to purchase better quality inputs. The Soil Health Cards also helped.
From the viewpoint of a far-flung region like ours, I should also highlight the telecom revolution-2.There has been a massive rise in smartphone ownership and this has helped bridging the digital divide.
Soft loans and support through Mudra initiatives have increased. It is not wrong to say that Shri Modi is the first Indian prime minister to leverage technology so much for his welfare programs and he also revolutionized a system called digital payment. The government’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has revolutionized India’s economy even in villages and even for vegetable vendors and milk booths.
Even the CoWin Vaccination Platform as a technology has proved successful and result oriented.
It may not be erroneous to suggest that for a long time, India was “harmed” by politics of low delivery and low expectations. The governance formula guided by ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ focused on irreversible empowerment of marginalized sections. This changed the perception about life and expectancy on governance by the poor who were hitherto depending only on their fortunes.
Take for instance, once a gas connection or electricity is given and toilets were constructed, people realized none can take it away. Slowly, people also developed a taste for higher and more aspirations. Focus shifted to education and skill development. This has been a big success area in the last nine years.
Under Congress, people got small benefits periodically and kept on depending on the political largesse. The ‘piecemeal’ varieties of the development and empowerment kept people ‘dependent’ and thus irreversible empowerment was denied.
But under Modi, schemes like Jan Dhan, Mudra yojana and StartUp India and Skill India “empowered individuals on a long-term perspective”. The marginalized sections were provided with self-employment opportunities and they found themselves turning into ‘entrepreneurs’.
This was a game-changer as such small-time players-turned-entrepreneurs became role models across India. The government of India has started ‘thinking big for the poor’. To substantiate the claims, we can point out that 29.75 crore people benefitting under PM Suraksha Bima Yojana, 13.53 crore people benefited under PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and 37 crore Ayushman Bharat health accounts.
During the last nine years, three crore people got houses under Awas Yojana and a whopping and Rs 25 lakh crore directly transferred to beneficiary bank accounts.
The central government has also undertaken many reforms to empower Divyangjan, Transgender people and denotified and nomadic tribes. Under the Namaste scheme, the center seeks to eradicate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning practices to help sanitation workers also lead a life of dignity.
Before one concludes, we may refer to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated anti-India utterances during his overseas trips. He selects specially organized ‘anti-India’ crowd and then seeks to embarrass the government and the country. His repeated utterances against India and Indian culture and prestige must be resisted.
Recently it has come to light that some organizations and individuals Rahul associates himself during trip abroad have questionable credentials.
Has Rahul reduced the Congress party to the level of a ‘virus’ or a ‘Trojan horse’? There was an undisclosed MoU between Congress party and the Chinese Communists leadership in 2008. The episode had raised eyebrows earlier too. Should our agencies get back into action to find whether some political elements in India are already working at the behest of some ‘forces’ which are friendly to China-Pakistan axis? I say this because the security of the nation is involved.
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