Prakash Javadekar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has completed 6 months in office, in his second term, on November 30, 2019. Within this six months several historic and transformative decisions have been taken by Modi 2.0 touching positively, in particular, the lives of poor, downtrodden, farmers, women, youth, middle class, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes. The overarching principle and spirit of all decisions by the Modi Government has been “India First”.
In line with the mandate and faith re-imposed emphatically by the people of India, the Government under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has engaged in realising and fulfilling the promises made by the BJP in its election manifesto. With the larger vision of “SabkaSaathSabkaVikas”, Modi 2.0 is steadfastly working and seeking “SabkaVishwas”
Several core promises of the BJP have already been fulfilled. Foremost among them is the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A andpassage of the Triple Talaqbill&delivering gender justice to Muslim women, which havebeen welcomed by all.
During the six months’ tenure of Modi 2.0 the country also saw the historic verdict of the Honourable Supreme Court on Ayodhya, paving the way for the construction of a magnificent Ram temple on “Ram Janmabhoomi”Significantly, the BJP and its affiliated organisations had played a constructive role even as some of the key political opponents did everything to delay the judgement on Ayodhya. As mentioned by the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his “Mann Ki Baat” programme, the spirit of peace and harmony that prevailed post Ayodhya verdict was a testimony to the strength of “Indian Democracy”.
One Nation, One Flag, One Constitution became a reality under the Modi government. It was a historic moment as the Bill to abrogate Article 370, piloted by BJP President and Union Home Minister ShriAmit Shah, was passed by the Parliament.
India is on the right path to become a 5 trillion-dollar economy soon. With major decisions like strategic disinvestment of PSUs and reforms like Tax, labour and banking, Indian economy is strengthening. Corporate tax rates slashed to 22% for existing and 15% for new domestic manufacturing companies. India now has one of the lowest tax rates, making it one of the most competitive global economies.
Mega bank mergers to improve the health of banking sector have been initiated. In consonance to this, 10 banks are merged to improve the health of the banking sector. Rs 70,000 crore to be infused in banks for the year 2019-20.
The ModiGovt has also given a big boost to resolutions under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. With this, the average number of days for resolving disputes and cleaning up the system has been a mere 374 days!
India is making its mark in the world. The meteoric rise in various global indices like Ease of doing business, global innovation index and various others, bear testimony to this fact. India now ranks 63rd among 190 countries in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report (DBR) 2019. India has jumped 67 ranks in Ease of doing business in 3 years. It is also the highest jump by any large country since 2011. India now has the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem. India’s rank has jumped to 52nd rank in 2019, from 81st rank in 2015 in Global Innovation index; In IMD’s World Digital competitiveness Index 2019, India has jumped to 44th position from 48th in 2018. Last, but not the least, India has jumped to 34th rank from a 52 rank in 2015 in WEF’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness index 2019.
In a big step towards doubling farmers’ income in the country, the Modi Government 2.0 has pioneered a unique
PM KISAN Scheme, in which Rs 6000 input assistance per year is given to all the farmers. The scheme now covers all 14.5 crore farmers in the country.
Flying clean and high, the Modi Government has brought Rafale to India. With this, the litany of false allegations against the Government has fallen apart.
Modiji believes in public participation by which behaviour can be changed. He had proved this through Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and using toilets. Now he has given a clarion call for “Say No to Single Use Plastic”. During just 15 days’ campaign, 13000 tonnes of plastic waste were collected. This is huge. He has also appealed to people to do “Plogging” i.e., while jogging or walking, pick and dispose of properly “polythene” littered on the streets or pathways.
Though six months are a very short period, when we look back, a phenomenal achievement have been made by Modi Government 2.0.
(The author is Union Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change; Information & Broadcasting; Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises)