‘Modi Government Has Shown The Will To Take Decisions’

In a group discussion organised by BW Businessworld and hosted by Brij Pahwa at the Management Development Institute (MDI), a group of students share their views on the performance of the Modi government in the last three years. The youth feels the government is on the right path, and with more time, it can succeed in its missions.

Edited excerpts:

What is your general opinion on the three years of the Modi government?

Ashish: The three years of the government have been consistent towards FDI policies, which will increase infrastructural facilities, especially in transport, agriculture and warehousing. There has been a focus on creation of more jobs. The policies have also led to the eradication of middlemen.

Dhruv:  All policies are focused on long-term growth. Even though some short-term impacts can be observed, it is too early to judge them. We should wait for two more years to find out the long-term impact.

Ankur: The Modi government has shown its will to take decisions and to strive for change. We have moved on successfully from the incompetent UPA government. This government has a vision. One of the best things about this government is, it is extremely transparent. For example, Sushma Swaraj is seen replying to tweets and helping Indian citizens abroad despite her bad health.

Umang: You can see the magic of Modi everywhere, especially after the recent UP elections. No party has got this sort of majority in the past 30-40 years. This is due to its policies and reforms such as ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’.

As students, what is the one policy that has helped you or will directly benefit you?

Ritu: The government has bridged the gap between digital media and education. It has increased access to online facilities. Modi has started various schemes on digital platforms, such as the ‘Shala Asmita Yojana’, to make students from different parts of India digitally equipped. He has also made access to student loans easier and convenient. Today, there is more awareness about student loans. Students, especially those from lower classes, have been able to take full advantage of these loans.

Alok: It’s easier to do business now. The introduction of a one-stop website where people can complete and submit all their paperwork is extremely useful. This helps us as students as we can go back to our home towns and start our own businesses.

But what about jobs? The government had promised jobs to the youth of the country, but has failed to create as many jobs as it had projected. What is your take on that given you will be soon out of college?

Himanshu: The election manifesto of the BJP clearly said “Hum rozgaar denge”. Rozgaar doesn’t only mean jobs. It means the ability of the government to provide sustainability to people. Apart from creating jobs, this government, through its various policies such as FDI, ‘Skill India’ and ‘Make in India’, has actually created business opportunities.

Vivek: The government has also helped startups, which are also generating jobs. India has a large number of unemployed graduates. Startups are offering jobs to these students at a decent salary. There has been a phenomenal rise in the number of startups in the country.

What is your opinion on ‘Make in India’ and FDI?

Vivek: ‘Make in India’ is a great initiative. The government should go all out to promote it as it can give a great boost to our gross domestic product.

Ankur: FDI and ‘Make in India’ run parallelly. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two. They will not abolish our homegrown market. They will actually prove beneficial as they will drive competition, thus pushing Indian companies to produce better goods at cheaper rates.

Will there be an end to retail with the level of FDI coming in?

Himanshu: India is a country with a population of 1.3 billion. Most people live in tier-2 cities. Retail markets cannot shut down because online facilities are mostly inaccessible in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. There is no chance to eradicate small retailers and middlemen as these are the people who supply the end product to people in small cities.

What is your view on demonetisation? 

Himanshu: You cannot see demonetisation as a standalone policy. It is also unfair to judge such a massive project/idea after just six months. It is too early to see actual change taking place. It was a well-planned policy.

But what about its implementation? It’s original objective was to curb black money, but we saw cases of corruption even after demonetisation.

Ankur: Corruption is a mindset, and demonetisation as a policy was a wrong means to stop corruption. If I intend to partake in corruption, I will do it no matter what. For the economy as a whole, there was hue and cry as we were not prepared. In the government as well, only a handful of people knew about it.

Dhruv: The short-term effect on small traders was hard. The execution failed because our banking system isn’t competent enough to handle such a big policy.

Himanshu: Every election after the demonetisation drive was a litmus test for Modi.

But his party won every state election with absolute majority.

What is the biggest failure of the Modi government?

No work on rehabilitation and land reclamation

No focus on startups in the service sector (education, financial advising). ‘Make in India’ should focus on the service sector.

More ground work is required to give farmers what they deserve. And for ‘Digital India’ (to be a success), more people have to be educated first.

No work has been done to bring back black money.

Not enough focus on people in Jammu and Kashmir. They are being ignored.

The quality of education in government primary schools. It needs to be upgraded.