Modi and his 24x7 delivery

In the run-up to the 2014 parliamentary poll, high political corruption dominated the national conversation. No longer, though. On the completion of three years of Modi sarkar, the Opposition criticised it for everything under the sun, but NOT for corruption. This is one unalloyed success the Prime Minister can be genuinely proud of. Neither he nor any minister can be accused of being in bed with moneybags. Indeed, no government in free India has escaped the taint of scams. No, not even Nehru’s, nor, for that matter, Vajpayee’s. But this one has. Full marks to it! 

Quite aside from that singular achievement, there is a lot that the government has done to lift the national mood from one of cynicism and despondency to that of hope and optimism. In this, Modi’s own 24x7 obsession with the fine-tuning of delivery mechanisms of good governance, to devote attention to the vital nuts and bolts of governmental structures, to deploy increasingly the tools of modern technology, and, above all, to keep ministers and senior bureaucrats constantly on their toes has yielded results. 

However, for the ‘aam aadmi’, the success or failure of a government inevitably depends on the price of ‘dal-roti’.  The fact that the government has managed to hold the food price-line within a narrow range since its advent three years ago has helped it retain popular support. The benign global crude markets have certainly helped, but so has a clever management of agricultural subsidies and markets.  Now, a 4 per cent inflation is well within the RBI’s own parameters for the monetary policy committee to take a fresh look at the prime lending rate. 

Confidence in the economy is also clear from the noticeable uptick in the flow of foreign funds in the share markets and, to a lesser extent, for project finance. India might have gained from the general slowdown in the western world, but without the government creating a conducive climate for growth, investors would not be headed our way. The record spurt in the SENSEX may be only one indication of the renewed confidence in the country; the other could be the record foreign exchange reserves. 

Yes, the rate of fresh investment in industry and commerce continues to be sluggish. Poor off-take of credit validates that charge. But when the new government was saddled with the gruesome legacy of nearly 10 lakh crore in bad loans, when the manufacturing and real estate sectors — the real drivers of the economy in some ways — were sitting on huge excess capacities, when lenders had either siphoned off funds or had misemployed them on unviable projects, to further open the faucet of public funds would have been a remedy worse than the disease. Without first cleaning up the bank books, without first forcing the borrowers to pay up what they can by selling off assets at the pain of imprisonment, it would have been foolhardy to press on with fresh investments. The attack on black money and stringent laws to curb the menace is a huge positive too. Meanwhile, new investment is already beginning to be made in some sectors of the economy. 

The above would explain the lack of enough jobs in the last three years. Making due allowance for election-time promises, no government can fully satisfy the needs of an ever-growing workforce by putting everyone on its roll. That way lies bankruptcy of the public exchequer and an unbearable burden on future generations.  Yes, it was sheer hyperbole to suggest that the million-plus who join the job market every month would all be gainfully employed. Yet, the government has had the good sense to encourage small and micro businesses, lending small sums of money at negligible interest in order for them to be gainfully self-employed. 

One area where critics do seem to have a point is in the flawed political messaging. Electoral victories should never be allowed to degenerate into a license for the cadres to do as they please. Constant discordance caused by the odd-bod crowd of self-appointed gaurakshaks, the Romeo squads and other vigilante groups claiming proximity to the ruling party do no good. The government should be able to give undivided attention to the provision of good governance. Overall, a good three years, though Kashmir, as before, remains on the boil. 

The author is a senior journalist