The story of the last four years is one of missed opportunities and dashed hopes, of waiting for achhe din that never came, of seeing expectations raised to the heights by lofty rhetoric, only to come crashing down in the face of depressing reality. 26 May marks the fourth anniversary of an era of disappointment for believers, of vindication for the sceptics, and of frustration for all who want India to thrive.
Waiting for PM Modi’s Achhe Din: The Bad, the Worse and The Ugly
17/September/2018
All Talk, No Walk
How does one look back at these four years? Economics is clearly a vital prism: Mr Modi came to power boasting of his prowess at economic development, telling the nation he had been a successful CEO of Gujarat Inc and was ready to do for India what he had done for his state.
Against that yardstick, we have a stunning checklist of spectacular failures, headed by a GDP growth rate that has fallen by 2.2 percent because of the twin self-inflicted blows of demonetisation (a bad idea implemented badly) and the botched rollout of GST (a good idea implemented badly).
Manufacturing has contracted, exports have declined, growth in industrial production has slowed, and agriculture is stagnating (or worse, given the annual rise in the number of farmer suicides). Credit growth stood at 5.3 percent in 2016-17, the lowest in over 60 years. There is no sign of achhe din.
A government that promised two crore new jobs a year – eight crore in four years – has generated precisely 18 lakh jobs in that time, and the thrasonical prime minister has been reduced to claiming that pakoda-sellers on sidewalks should also be counted in the employment figures.
The BJP government earned a windfall of $40 billion or Rs 2,33,000 crore in its first three years, thanks to a collapse in benchmark crude oil prices from $108.05 to $48.82 (May 2014 to May 2017) whose benefits it refused to pass on to the aam aadmi. Instead, it levied in extra taxes what might have been saved at the pump, failing to produce a stimulus to the economy, and, given the subsequent rise in global prices, leaving the Indian driver stuck with record high prices at the pump, even as the rupee tumbles to record lows near Rs 70 to the dollar.
To add insult to injury, the State Bank of India, India's biggest lender, has started charging penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance in accounts, ATM charges and other services – inflicting pain on 31 crore savings account holders, including pensioners and students.
Name-Changers or Game-Changers?
Instead of being a game-changing government, the BJP has turned out to be a name-changing one.
The only successes it can point to are of schemes that were initiated by the UPA and often criticised at the time by the Opposition BJP:
- MNREGA (which the PM sneered at, but now seeks credit for increasing its funding, even though States complain the promised subventions from the Centre have not come);
- Aadhaar (which Mr Modi vowed to di
Source: https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/opinion-shashi-tharoor-writes-on-modi-govt-bjp-four-years