With the completion of the 3rd year in power, Modi government’s overall performance deserves a “pat”. The government in its tenure has not only articulated but also successfully implemented many key reforms and policies. The Government has taken numerous steps to boost the Indian economy and to empower the common people of the country. There has been a huge leap in the India’s ratings and indexes in the global and International arena. The foreign investment flows and reserves are at a record high under the leadership of PM Modi.
All these achievements are mentioned everywhere, I would rather highlight policies and campaigns which don’t get the limelight in mainstream media but are having a drastic change on the people of the country.
Rural Electrification
If we look at the some policies and initiative of the government, we would realize that for the first time in India we are actually discussing such issues. How many of us would know that even after 70 years of Independence, there are around 18452 villages in the country where there is no electricity. We all heard of election-poll promises of 24 hours non-stop electricity supply but what about these villages. In last 3 years, Modi government has provided electricity to almost 13000 villages out of 18000 villages for the first time since Independence.
“GIVE IT UP” – LPG GAS SUBSIDY
In India for the first time, PM Modi has initiated the campaign of “GiveitUp” which is aimed at encouraging well off citizens of the country to voluntarily surrender their LPG gas subsidy. To the surprise for few, more than 1 crore people have joined this campaign and voluntarily give up their subsidy. The government has utilized this savings on subsidy to provide gas connections under PM Ujjwala Yojana to those who till today rely on coal, dung, firewood, etc. as primary source of cooking.
Till date more than 2 crores of gas cylinders and connections have been provided to the poor households. It also aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel. It is quite important to highlight that while some political parties are making poll announcement of free Wifi or laptops or smart phones, here is a government on whose call people have given up their subsidy.
UDAN ( Ude Desh Ka AAM Nagrik)
The government has given wings to the small and medium class people of the country by launching the UDAN( Ude Desh Ka AAM Nagrik) scheme for better regional connectivity .In this scheme, 50 per cent of seats on every flight will cost Rs 2,500 per seat. This will be applicable for flights where the distance is less than 500 km or one-hour. This will be helpful for those citizens who have to travel frequently for business purposes. It will save time and money at the time will lead to business expansion also. This scheme will bring Indian aviation sector to 31 new cities. 50 airports to be upgraded for more than 4000 crores and it will connect more than 200 routes across the country.
Jan Aushadhi Yojana (JAY)
High quality medicines at low prices! Yes, it is really hard to believe but this is true. The Modi government has launched the “JAN AUSHADHI YOJANA (JAY)” under which citizens will have the access to unbranded high quality generic medicines at a lower price, but are equivalent in potency to branded expensive drugs. So far 1110 Janaushadhi Kendras have been opened all over the country to implement this scheme and people are getting benefited from it largely. There are 600 generic medicines and 154 surgicals at affordable rates provided through this scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Housing for All
The Modi Government through its “Housing for All” has set up a target of building 2 crores homes over a period of 7 years, i.e, by 2022 which is a major step towards ensuring that every Indian household will get a home within their financial capabilities. So far 82,048 houses were built under PMAY (Urban) from 2015-17 till April’17. In last 3 years 3.55 lakhs houses were constructed including those sanctioned under JNNURM.
The government in a major relief to the mid-income group has announced credit linked interest subsidy scheme for housing loans under which EMIs will go down by over INR 2000 per month. Under the scheme, an interest subsidy of 4% on housing loans of up to Rs 9 lakh for those with an income of Rs 12 lakh per year and of 3% on housing loans of up to Rs 12 lakh for those having an income of Rs 18 lakh per year will be given.
Pradhan Mantri Gold Monetisation and Bond Scheme
The gold monetization scheme is a step to mobilize the gold held by the Indian households and institutions of the country and facilitate its use for productive use and to reduce reliance on the import of gold. The gold which is kept in your lockers does get the value appreciation but it does not pay a regular income or interest. Under the scheme, the gold will then earn interest based on gold weight and also the appreciation of the metal value. You get back your gold in the equivalent of 995 fineness gold or Indian rupees as you desire.
Various Education Schemes
• Smart India Hackathon was launched where 42000 students have participated and worked on 600 problems from 29 different ministries.
• First Indian Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) called “SWAYAM” started the pilot run with 300 courses all over the country.
• Under Ucchatar Aavishkar Yojana (UAY), there are 92 Projects were approved out of 180 from IITs. 475 crore provisioned for 2016-18.
• Special scholarship to 24,200 J&K Students @2.20 per annum for engineering. 5lakhs for medical courses and 1.30 lakhs for general courses.
• Under mid day meal scheme. Food offered to around 10 crore students in 11.50.000 schools all over the country.
• Under the adult literacy campaign, 3 crore adults were educated and made literate.
Stand Up India
PM Modi in an attempt to promote and encourage the entrepreneurship among women and SC & ST communities had launched the scheme – “Stand Up India”. The scheme will not only transform the lives of the underserved sector of people but also lead them economic empowerment and job creation. Under the scheme so far 22983 SUI applications were sanctioned for INR 6128 crores and around 21177 SUI applications were disbursed for 3169 crores.
Pradhan Mantri Nai Manzil Scheme
This scheme is launched to enable students of madrasas to cope up with the contemporary education system and provide them skill training so that they could earn once they move out of madrassa. In this scheme, minimum 30% seats are earmarked for minority girls. This scheme with a outlay of 3738 crore, aims to provide certification to muslims students so that they could be able to get an admission or jobs in institutions or universities.
These are some of the many schemes launched by PM Modi and its government to directly benefit the poor and common people of the country. The management of the economy over the years has been far-sighted and practical. Without doubt, the 3rd year of Modi government will always be remember because of the boldest and biggest decision, demonetisation, unimaginative and unpredictable. This will increase the tax base and digitalization of the economy as a long term benefits of this courageous step.
The Modi government has followed the approach of utilizing “technology” as a biggest tool in implementation of all the policies and initiatives to connect directly with the beneficiaries and avoid the corruption and loop holes in the ground implementation. The government has saved a huge amount of money by enabling aadhar linked to the schemes and leading to saving to the tune of thousands of crores. The innovative and out of the box approach has shown the results which are visible on the grounds and can be seen as basis of continuous victory of BJP in majority of the elections.
Let the people judge the tenure of the PM Modi government on their own parameters but it is widely accepted that the country has achieved new highs in all the sectors and areas under the leadership of Modi than any other central government in power over the years.