PM Modi: Time for bold reforms
Abstract:
The Planning Commission is being revamped. This should have happened at least 16 years ago when the first NDA government came into office in 1998. By that time the 1991 reforms were beginning to transform the nature of the Indian economy from being closed and centrally planned to an open and private sector-led economy. But better late than never.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this bold reform in his maiden Independence Day speech. He is now actively following up on this announcement and met selected experts yesterday. I hope the new institution will be a high-powered and knowledge-driven body that will win the respect of its peers by the value addition it brings to addressing India’s myriad challenges.
Modi also used his Red Fort address to hold up a rather unflattering mirror to us Indians instead of trotting out a laundry list of new schemes. This was widely appreciated. He dwelt on aspects such as how we Indians don’t respect our women; lack basic civic sense and keep our cities and villages filthy; focus unremittingly on our narrowest self-interest; do not seem to mind that a majority of our population still practises open defecation.
He did not promise that the government will solve all these social ills. Instead he exhorted the people to come forward and remove them. These weaknesses have been universally known in India. So why did it take a Modi to publicly articulate them and make these severe self-indictments under global gaze?