Sunday, May 18, 2014

Will he Deliver








Narendra Modi has done what no other Indian politician has achieved till now. He has demolished the Congress party and in effect has put that party back by 20 years. India has unofficially voted in a presidential election and gave a never heard of victory to Narendra Modi and BJP. Coming from a humble background and working his way up the ranks through sheer hard work he has displayed the stamina and courage of a warrior.

A broader look at the opposition parties which fell by the way side are all those who touted secularism and rights based policies as their mantra. This may be right but what they have not realized is this young India wants a better life, jobs and not doles and subsidies alone. For the first time in an Indian election the first time voters participated in large numbers and voted for Shri.Modi with their feet.

Low growth, corruption, high unemployment, arrogance of the Congress party, the ego of Nitish Kumar, the bumbling Akhilesh Yadav and the eternally stupid Netaji ( Mulayam) , Weakened regional satarps and the irrelevance of the communists ( they are still meeting in Delhi to discuss reasons for their defeat - Here is the answer you guys are sleeping at the wheels while India has moved on), have all provided a fantastic opportunity for Modi to deliver a knock out punch.

So Mr.Modi it is upto you to deliver and here is my to do list for you -

1. Cabinet - Pick the bright and best (I meant while accommodating your political compulsions). I am sure folks like Arun Shourie will be back.

2. PMO – Bring transparency to the PMO. Make them responsive. PMO should provide leadership in all areas of administration. It should run like a Project Management Office – knowing all and directing all.

3. Advisors – Take a leaf out of Shri. Vajpayee and have a set of strong advisors. UPA suffered because of this.

4. Center state relationship – You pitched for this, ensure it works. Stop the squabbling have a large heart. UPA was partial and vindictive. Helping non-BJP states will help you politically too.

5. Agriculture – Farmers have been the most abused by all political parties. No one tells them the reality in terms of what plagues their profession. You should take the lead and help them do better. Diversification, Higher productivity, High value items, exports, Investments in Irrigation, canals etc, elimination of middle men we all know should be the areas of focus.

6. Infrastructure –
a. Get the NHAI working, there is a whole lot of confusion on what model to adopt (PPP, etc). Clarity of policy should be your governments focus. Companies have lost money pouring thousands of crores into infrastructure projects and are suffering. Take it on yourself, pump money and ensure our highways are built in the next five years. India cannot wait for good highways any longer.
b. As urbanization increases India we will see more migration to tier1 and 2 towns, start early and invest in tier 2 towns and make them smart cities ( for ex: Surat, Coimbatore, Vijaywada, Nagpur etc )
c. Connecting rivers – It has been on paper for long .Please start in a small way and show the nation how it works.
d. Clean the rivers – Ganga action plan – and “Ma Ganga ne bulaya apko “Please kick some life into the organization and start cleaning up our rivers. Infact it should be a nationwide movement and a significant achievement for your administration.
e. Airports- Privatize remaining AAI run airports. They are not capable of building world class and efficient airports. Invest in smaller airports in tier 2 and 3 towns – connect India to make more of them fly more.
f. Coal mining – it is a shame we import coal having world’s third largest reserves. Clarity on coal mining policy is necessary.
g. Power projects – Most of them are suffering due to policy logjams, coal allocation, and gas allocation. It is a mess put some bright minds to give these projects life and Indians 24 x 7 power at homes. Extend the Gujarat Solar energy model to the country.


7. Women – Focus on literacy, protection, employment opportunities should be top priorities. Fast track courts for providing justice to victims should be established all over the country.

8. Human development index (human development) – This is the most important area your administration should focus on. There are a host of government funded programs in the areas of Health care, Education, Women’s empowerment etc under various departments. Need to consolidate these programs and make them effective and outcome oriented. India suffers from lack of genuine data on the above parameters. Unless we improve these parameters India will not get the respect it deserves in the League of Nations.

9. Sanitation – You yourself said “pehle souchalay”. The first person to speak about it openly. Instead of embarking on half hearted schemes like ‘ Nirmal grameen abhiyan” government should go ahead and build toilets free in all villages. There is no point in asking villagers to fund part money when they do not have enough to feed themselves. Link it to MNREGA and fund it fully. You can eliminate half the diseases in India by doing so.

10. Universities and Hospitals – We are poor country and government has basically abdicated its responsibility in these two critical areas. Your administration should focus on improving higher education in our Universities and bring life back into Government hospitals. Private sector is squeezing money out of the poor and needy.

11. More government – Your slogan has been less government, more governance, one cannot agree more. I would say that in the next 5/10 years we need active government at least in the areas of Infrastructure, Education and Healthcare. These areas are extremely critical and needed to be anchored by your government.

12. External affairs – Very poor state of affairs which need immediate attention. India should gain leadership in its neighborhood. As a large country we should set the agenda and work with our neighbors.

Thank you for the patient reading and wishing you all the best. Beware of your detractors who will try to distract your attention on frivolous issues, you promised development and governance; please stick to it for a second coming in 2019 “doosri bar modi Sarkar”.



2 comments:

  1. Hi Ram, this is beautifully articulated. Mr. Modi could not be in a better position than this - India's overflowing support behind him, Congress decimated, thumping majority and his war-cry of development capturing the mood of the nation. Hope his team selection is un-compromised, intent of team un-corrupted and execution flawless. It'll be a great service to India, if he gets this right. I hope and wish for the best. Regards, Anurag

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  2. I am sorry I read this late. Either he spoke out of your mouth or just that he called you or that there is strong sense of national consciousness that is driving the country. I too had all of these in my mind. So well articulated by you... Wonderful reading...

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