No government in India has ever been subjected to such intense scrutiny after being only 100

days in office than the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) administration.
The reasons for this are, of course, obvious. One, Modi came to power riding a gargantuan wave
of expectations, not least because of his personal campaigning, the likes of which the country
had never seen before. Two, Modi remains a polarizing figure among a large number of Indians,
who spend perhaps a disproportionate of amount of their time trying to find flaws and threats in
anything that Modi or his government says or does. So, let me add my two centsRs.1.21 at
11.33am on 4 Septemberto the scrutiny and go ahead and say that I believe we have a good
government, and things can only get better. Here are my reasons: We have a Prime Minister.
This is a big change from the last five years, when we had a venerable gentleman who seemed to
spend his days watching the peacocks on the lawns of his official residence, and a lady whose
sole aim was to make her son the next Prime Minister by doling out freebies recklessly and
wastefully. Now we have a man at the helm who has his cabinet totally in controlunlike his
predecessorand whose workday, by all accounts, resembles that of Hercules during a
particularly busy period of his labours. This is a very good thing. Yes, everyone who voted the
NDA to power expected radical reforms from Day One. The budget seems to have disappointed
even many diehard supporters in industry and academia. But clearly, this government is looking
to play a Test match and not a T20. Its aim is to fix the existing administrative machinery and
government delivery mechanismsand 1.25 billion Indians would unanimously agree that they
need a lot of fixingand then get to the big stuff. In other words, see through the opening
conditions on the first day, tame the pitch and then think of speeding up the run rate. That too
makes sense. Yet, it will be wrong to say that the budget had nothing in it. As I have written
before in another forum, it did indicate a clear change in intent and direction. Its just that the
government did not want to make a hue and cry about it, which is entirely in line with the tone
Modi has set as Prime Ministerdo your work efficiently and eschew the dramatics. The budget
put more money in the hands of the taxpayer (not much more, but given the state of the economy
the NDA has inherited, even that little bit was a brave act, and definitely a statement of
ideology). It attempted to encourage entrepreneurship; in an interview, finance minister Arun
Jaitley said what I believe to be the most important economic statement he has made: We want
to move from an entitlement economy to an opportunities economy. He set high divestment
targets, but mentioned it only in passing in his speech. He explained later that speaking more
about it would have caused disruptive debate that the government could currently do without.
As expected, this government is much more business-friendly than the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA). Of course, after the UPA, almost any government would look like it was
dressed to kill for business. But, as Modi has said, referring to his Gujaratiness: Business is in
my blood, money is in my blood. As a Reuters report put it: From tax policy, land acquisition
issues, environment approvals, manufacturing to labour laws, the government is slowly putting
in place building blocks to ensure India regains the confidence of investors while removing some
of the hurdles. Clearly, Modi believes that private investmentwhether domestic or foreignis
key to developing infrastructure, give that much-needed boost to manufacturing and get the
economy heading northward again. And crucial to that is to bridge the trust deficit that has
grown between investors and government over the last some years. Yet, Modi has made it clear
in word and deed that though he is pro-capitalism, he wont allow crony capitalism under his
watch. Note the conspicuous silence today of those who confidently went about predicting before
the elections that an NDA government would be run by the Ambanis and the Adanis. There is
now a story going around that the Prime Minister rapped Piyush Goyal, minister for power and
coal, for meeting industrialist Gautam Adani at a five-star hotel restaurant. Whatever the veracity
of the story, it is known that a fiat has gone out that if ministers have to meet businessmen, they
should meet them in their own offices. Modi appears to believe in the East Asian model of
developmenteconomic growth through export-oriented manufacturing. This is clear from his
exhortation in his Independence Day speech to domestic manufacturers to export more, and to
foreign industries to come, make in India. That is the only way the economy has even an
outside chance of creating the quantum of employment opportunities that is absolutely critical
today. As we all know, 10 million young Indians are coming into the job market every year, and
we are creating jobs less than 10% of that number. And the services sector, which accounts for
more than 60% of Indias GDP, will not be of much help there, since it employs only 27% of the
workforce. There is no doubt that the East Asian model has worked. Of course, the government
now has to enthuse investors enough to pull it off. But the intent is absolutely correct. The UPA
government, in its last two years, had announced extremely ambitious targets for the
infrastructure sector, but hardly any projects saw light of day. The new NDA government is hell-
bent on creating world-class infrastructure. Of course, I believe that spending money on bullet
trains is foolishbullet trains can merely be ultra-expensive showpieces, and that money can be
used much better on improving the existing railway system. But the overall determination to
improve connectivitywhether it be road, rail, ports, waterwaysis undeniable. Modi has
already got Japan to agree to bring in $35 billion over the next five years into this sector, and he
hopes to persuade China to also invest heavily. If this government can rapidly improve our
infrastructure, the impact on the economyand on peoples lives and livelihoodswill be truly
dramatic. The NDA government may have been sacking UPA-appointed state governors left
right and centre, but as far as the economy goes, it has no problems carrying on with UPA
policies that it believes will be beneficial. It has not junked Aadhaar unique identification
number programme, but has begun implementing its final stages. One of Aadhaars most
important objectives was to have a bank account for every Indian, and the Modi government is
pursuing that aggressively. Obviously, there will many glitches herebank managers eager to
meet targets will open additional bank accounts for those who already have one, and so onbut
this idea, if implemented properly, can transform the entire Indian welfare state, slashing
corruption across the board and greatly empowering the poor and needy. Ask not what your
country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country, John F. Kennedy had famously
said in his inauguration speech. Similarly, in his Independence Day address, Modi asked all
Indians to introspect and clean their own acts up before putting their fingers at others. Universal
sanitation is the theme that has been most mentioned in the mediaModi is certainly the first
Prime Minister in India to talk about defecation from the ramparts of the Red Fortbut his call
was essentially for a national regeneration, from the individual level to the societal. This is a
powerful message, and certainly goes beyond empty sloganeering. No Prime Minister till date
has had the guts to ask the common Indian to squarely share the blame for the state of the nation,
and point out that there is something rotten in our behavioural patterns that stands in the way of
progress. Modi gets my complete respect for showing this blunt courage. Lastly, in the area
least expectedforeign policyModi has excelled. Everything he has done till now indicates
that he has a very clear vision of Indias place in the geopolitical arena. Consider the various
steps: inviting all the SAARC leaders to his swearing in; charming Bhutan and Nepal and
building stronger ties with these two nation-states; acting tough with Pakistan; attempting to
form a close alliance with Japan, which could turn out to be the most valuable relationship India
has ever had; making it clear to China through oblique commentsand the commissioning of
highways along the Chinese border in the North Eastthat theres a new and less timid
government in charge in New Delhi today, yet at the same time welcoming Chinese investment
and friendlier ties. We wait to see what his meetings with US President Barack Obama and
British Prime Minister David Cameron over the next two months yield. But one can be sure that
he will not come back empty-handed except for encomiums like the most respected leader in
the world, as his predecessor did. I could list more reasons, but 10, I think, is a good number.
Yes, critics point out that there are several more things this government could have done, or done
otherwise. The goods and services tax still looks like a distant dream; economists are split down
the middle over whether Indias stand on food subsidies at the WTO was correct or not; there are
doubts being expressed about excessive centralization of power; and so on and so forth. And of
course there are the usual fears about secularism in danger being aired. One should comment
on the last point. The Congress fought the last Lok Sabha elections almost entirely on the
secularism plank, and was rejected lock stock and barrel. Maybe, the aam aadmi has moved on
from this tired breast-beating about a concept that everyone across the spectrum would agree has
degenerated over the decades from what Indias founding fathers had in mind. Maybe the people
are moving on. Maybe they just want better lives. Better lives, after all, are the most secular gift
that a state can give a nations citizens. And on the whole, if its first 100 days are any indication,
the Modi government seems committed to delivering that gift.

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