Modi era takes shape
Abstract:
With nearly 150 days having passed since Prime Minister Narendra Modi entered office, we can see silhouettes of the new regime emerge. Although the economy had been at the centre of Modi’s election speeches, social goals and foreign relations have come to occupy an equally important place in his early action agenda – if not even more.
At least three initiatives of his government can be potentially transformational. First and foremost, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is easily the most ambitious step towards improved health outcomes in recent decades. Public health has been a much-neglected area and has been waiting to be tackled on a war footing. With the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi strategically chosen as the target date for conclusion of this campaign, there is hope that government will closely monitor progress, take timely corrective actions and sustain momentum.
Second, setting aside near universal opposition from within his party, Modi has decided to complete the Aadhaar project which would give biometric identification to every Indian. Alongside he has launched the Jan Dhan Yojana that promi-ses bank accounts to all. Together, these projects hold the potential to fundament-ally transform India’s social welfare system. They offer an opportunity to unify myriad leaky and wasteful central and state welfare schemes into a single cash transfer. There is no official indication yet that this game-changing shift will be introduced. But the door to it is now wide open.