Prime Minister Modi, ever keen on highlighting the achievements of his tenure, says the Centre has rolled out “public-friendly” reforms even in the midst of the devastating pandemic experience. The claims are that the Centre has introduced, “new model of reforms” by “stealth and compulsion” and that states cooperated well in these initiatives.Curiously, the PM’s statement via a LinkedIn post comes at a time when perceptions are growing that the Modi government has lost its plot while it came to propelling India’s growth. The downfall of the economy started long before arrivals of Covid-19. The nation is sustaining itself by virtue of the generous rollout of doles, which is a stop-gap arrangement and not a long-term solution. There is a sense that India is in the grip of administrative paralysis for a full 15 months.
Apart from GST, a reform that has been brought about was in the agricultural sector. The government did not budge before threats from farmers in Punjab and Haryana. A wholesale withdrawal of the reform steps is unlikely as state after state has stood by the reforms. What this goes to show is also that the eco-system for reforms are conducive in the Modi regime. The Opposition is lying low or is in a cooperative mood. The question is how far have the two Modi terms achieved in bringing transformational changes by changing the antiquated systems that remained in place for seven long decades.
Every sector cries for reforms. The judiciary, one of the four pillars of democracy, for instance. There is a huge pile-up of cases, unsettling the system and delaying the justice-dispensation process through decades. Top retired judges stated openly that vested interests are at work. The setting up of a National Judicial Service on the lines of the Civil Services to fashion a brilliant set of young minds to man the judiciary was decided on by the UPA-II, but the seven years of the NDA term left it in cold storage. Bureaucracy is riddled with corruption and so is politics. This is hampering investment opportunities, so important for job generation and economic growth. Agriculture sector, which is run with the sweat of farmers, did well in economic terms, while the industry sector is ailing. Investment means a cut for politicians and bureaucrats. India, alternatively, is depending on China to meet even daily household requirements. Sleepy, old-fashioned governance style at the apex is India’s curse. Every sector must reform and refurbish its image. Talks apart, very little push in that direction is evident.
