The title Modinomics vs Manmohanomics is very interesting in itself. It could well be translated to a teaseller vs an economist. What a stark contrast on paper as well as the ground. Some things are pretty evident. First of all bookish knowledge alone doesn't serve any purpose. It's not the educational qualifications which matter the most. What matters is the intent of the government. If the main aim is development of the country, many ways can be found. The Aadhar was there but it was a complete mess. The Modi government streamlined it and now it's an example for other countries to emulate.
Secondly one has to be bold and not timid. One should have the conviction to take bold decisions. Who would have thought of demonetisation which had no precedent in our country.
Thirdly the promise of abolishing corruption is not simply lip service. Earlier it was the norm that if one rupee was released, only 15 paise reached the poor. It takes honesty to plug all those loopholes and ensure that 100 paise reach the intended beneficiary.
Above all, intent to make our country the third largest economy in the world. There are various schemes being introduced and those are being properly implemented. The infrastructure has improved so much. This government doesn't need to offer freebies. It's work speaks for itself.
Thank you for your detailed thoughts. I would add another plus for this government: ability to learn from their mistakes. This is very important. Because in a vast and complex country like India, slip-ups in governance, especially unintended, is inevitable. Failure to learn worsens the damage.
Their ability to spurn freebies will be tested. Fingers crossed.
Prospects for the return of the Modi government look certain and only the number of seats are a matter of calculation. However, if one was to identify the problem areas, the first in my view is the price rise in food items of daily use. The pressure exerted by the farmers, especially from the North Indian states, is making the government to take a backward step to accommodate the aspirations and demands of the opportunistic traders and organizations that support and surround the farming community. By announcing a few Bharat Ratna awards, the Modi government has signaled that they are willing to go the distance in this fight. In a country with a mammoth population, food prices are critical to keep the electorate in a happy frame of mind and the free rations to about 800 million people since the Covid period, has been instrumental in tilting the balance in favor of the BJP and also resulted in India emerging as the best performing large economy in the world. The introduction of UCC in Uttarakhand is an important development and the ramifications of this bold experiment prior to the elections, remains to be assessed. The second vulnerability of the BJP, is that PM Modi is indispensable as the face of the party. As long as he is there, I feel that India and BJP, will move from strength to strength. Thank you Anil for an insightful article. 🙏
Couldn't agree with you more. The thing is that it has become very easy to be a disruptor. All you need is good funding. Lay siege to a key business hub and you have national attention. This is what we are seeing play out in front of our eyes right now with rich farmers from Punjab congregating on Delhi's border. We are seeing this play out across the world.
And agree with you that BJP does not have the wherewithal to underwrite a key man insurance for PM Modi. But in politics nothing is impossible.
Thank you Anil for such a thought provoking piece. However, one thing we all need to be clear hence forth is this - our pending political agenda items are almost over with Art 370, Ram Mandir, UCC and various schemes by Modi for so called marginalized or affected castes or groups. Henceforth, politics will be on economic growth, distribution of growth and jobs for the unemployable, unskilled labour force. So we shall see major reforms by Modi in every area of Governance in his next 2 terms!!! So let's welcome this change in political climate while we watch Rahul and the regional parties indulging in usual caste, anti Modi politics. Of course, Rahul also has a major responsibility of providing us continuous entertainment!!! Where can we get a better joker than him?!!!!
Hope that now most contentious issues are out of the way, good economics and good politics can coexist. Fingers crossed. As we speak I see another very clearly sponsored farmer agitation is readying for a fight on Delhi's borders.
Dear Anil
The title Modinomics vs Manmohanomics is very interesting in itself. It could well be translated to a teaseller vs an economist. What a stark contrast on paper as well as the ground. Some things are pretty evident. First of all bookish knowledge alone doesn't serve any purpose. It's not the educational qualifications which matter the most. What matters is the intent of the government. If the main aim is development of the country, many ways can be found. The Aadhar was there but it was a complete mess. The Modi government streamlined it and now it's an example for other countries to emulate.
Secondly one has to be bold and not timid. One should have the conviction to take bold decisions. Who would have thought of demonetisation which had no precedent in our country.
Thirdly the promise of abolishing corruption is not simply lip service. Earlier it was the norm that if one rupee was released, only 15 paise reached the poor. It takes honesty to plug all those loopholes and ensure that 100 paise reach the intended beneficiary.
Above all, intent to make our country the third largest economy in the world. There are various schemes being introduced and those are being properly implemented. The infrastructure has improved so much. This government doesn't need to offer freebies. It's work speaks for itself.
Dear Ranjini,
Thank you for your detailed thoughts. I would add another plus for this government: ability to learn from their mistakes. This is very important. Because in a vast and complex country like India, slip-ups in governance, especially unintended, is inevitable. Failure to learn worsens the damage.
Their ability to spurn freebies will be tested. Fingers crossed.
Best
Anil
Prospects for the return of the Modi government look certain and only the number of seats are a matter of calculation. However, if one was to identify the problem areas, the first in my view is the price rise in food items of daily use. The pressure exerted by the farmers, especially from the North Indian states, is making the government to take a backward step to accommodate the aspirations and demands of the opportunistic traders and organizations that support and surround the farming community. By announcing a few Bharat Ratna awards, the Modi government has signaled that they are willing to go the distance in this fight. In a country with a mammoth population, food prices are critical to keep the electorate in a happy frame of mind and the free rations to about 800 million people since the Covid period, has been instrumental in tilting the balance in favor of the BJP and also resulted in India emerging as the best performing large economy in the world. The introduction of UCC in Uttarakhand is an important development and the ramifications of this bold experiment prior to the elections, remains to be assessed. The second vulnerability of the BJP, is that PM Modi is indispensable as the face of the party. As long as he is there, I feel that India and BJP, will move from strength to strength. Thank you Anil for an insightful article. 🙏
Dear Gautam,
Couldn't agree with you more. The thing is that it has become very easy to be a disruptor. All you need is good funding. Lay siege to a key business hub and you have national attention. This is what we are seeing play out in front of our eyes right now with rich farmers from Punjab congregating on Delhi's border. We are seeing this play out across the world.
And agree with you that BJP does not have the wherewithal to underwrite a key man insurance for PM Modi. But in politics nothing is impossible.
Fingers crossed.
Best
Anil
Thank you Anil for such a thought provoking piece. However, one thing we all need to be clear hence forth is this - our pending political agenda items are almost over with Art 370, Ram Mandir, UCC and various schemes by Modi for so called marginalized or affected castes or groups. Henceforth, politics will be on economic growth, distribution of growth and jobs for the unemployable, unskilled labour force. So we shall see major reforms by Modi in every area of Governance in his next 2 terms!!! So let's welcome this change in political climate while we watch Rahul and the regional parties indulging in usual caste, anti Modi politics. Of course, Rahul also has a major responsibility of providing us continuous entertainment!!! Where can we get a better joker than him?!!!!
Thank you so much Surendra.
Hope that now most contentious issues are out of the way, good economics and good politics can coexist. Fingers crossed. As we speak I see another very clearly sponsored farmer agitation is readying for a fight on Delhi's borders.
Best
Anil