Prime Minister Narendra Modi

1 prime minister

1.1 economic policies
1.2 health , sanitation policies
1.3 hindutva , education policy
1.4 foreign policy
1.5 defence policy
1.6 environmental policies
1.7 governance , other initiatives

prime minister

modi sworn in prime minister of india on 26 may 2014 @ rashtrapati bhavan. became first prime minister born after india s independence british empire. first cabinet consisted of 45 ministers, 25 fewer previous united progressive alliance (upa) government. 21 new ministers added council of ministers in november 2014. during premiership, india rose 100th rank in 2018 ease of doing business ranking world bank.

economic policies

modi other brics leaders in 2016. left right: temer, modi, xi, putin , zuma.

the economic policies of modi s government focused on privatisation , liberalisation of economy, based on neoliberal framework. modi liberalised india s foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence , railways. other reforms included removing many of country s labour laws, make harder workers form unions , easier employers hire , fire them. these reforms met support institutions such world bank, opposition scholars within country. labour laws drew strong opposition unions: on 2 september 2015, eleven of country s largest unions went on strike, including 1 affiliated bjp. bharatiya mazdoor sangh, constituent of sangh parivar, stated reforms hurt labourers making easier corporations exploit them. in first budget, finance minister arun jaitley promised gradually reduce budgetary deficit 4.1 percent 3 percent on 2 years, , divest shares in public banks. on modi s first year in office, indian gdp grew @ rate of 7.5 percent, making world s fastest-growing large economy.

the funds dedicated poverty reduction programmes , social welfare measures decreased modi administration. money spent on social programmes declined 14.6% of gdp during congress government 12.6% during modi s first year in office. spending on health , family welfare declined 15%, , on primary , secondary education 16%. budgetary allocation sarva shiksha abhiyan, or education programme, declined 22%. government lowered corporate taxes, abolished wealth tax, , reduced customs duties on gold, jewelry, , increased sales taxes. in october 2014, modi government deregulated diesel prices, , later increased taxes on diesel , petrol.

modi @ launch of make in india programme.

in september 2014, modi introduced make in india initiative encourage foreign companies manufacture products in india, goal of turning country global manufacturing hub. supporters of economic liberalisation supported initiative, while critics argued allow foreign corporations capture greater share of indian market. in order enable construction of private industrial corridors, modi administration passed land-reform bill allowed acquire private agricultural land without conducting social impact assessment, , without consent of farmers owned it. under previous bill, government had required consent of 80% of owners of piece of property before acquiring private project: requirement waived. bill passed via executive order after faced opposition in parliament, allowed lapse. modi s government put in place goods , services tax, biggest tax reform in country since independence. subsumed around 17 different taxes , became effective 1 july 2017.

on 25 june 2015, modi launched programme intended develop 100 smart cities. smart cities programme expected bring information technology companies benefit of ₹20 billion (us$310 million). in june 2015, modi launched housing 2022 project, intends eliminate slums in india building 20 million affordable homes india s urban poor.

modi , british prime minister theresa may @ india-uk tech summit in new delhi

in first cabinet decision, modi set team investigate black money. on 9 november 2016, government demonetised ₹500 , ₹1000 banknotes, stated intention of curbing corruption, black money, use of counterfeit currency, , terrorism. move led widespread protests throughout country, including 1 opposition parties, stalled winter session of parliament. in days following demonetisation, banks across country faced severe cash shortages, had detrimental effects on number of small businesses, on agriculture, , on transportation. people seeking exchange notes had lengthy waits, , several deaths linked rush exchange cash. following modi s announcement, indian stock indices bse sensex , nifty 50 declined steeply. there has been steep increase in digital payments , transactions in country since day demonetization announced. post demonetisation, quantum of income tax returns filed individuals jumped 25% indicating widened tax net. further, advance tax collections rose 42% , self assessment tax collections rose 34.25%.

health , sanitation policies

in first year prime minister, modi reduced amount of money spent government on healthcare. modi government launched new health policy in january 2015, although did not increase government s spending on healthcare, instead emphasizing role of private healthcare organisations. represented shift away policy of previous congress government, had supported programmes assist public health goals, including reducing child , maternal mortality rates. national health mission, included public health programmes targeted @ these indices received 25% less funds in 2015 in previous year. 15 national health programmes, including aimed @ controlling tobacco use , supporting healthcare elderly, merged national health mission, , received less funds in previous years. modi appointed harsh vardhan, doctor , advocate of tobacco control, minister of health. however, vardhan removed in november 2015. government introduced stricter packaging laws tobacco requires 85% of packet size covered pictorial warnings. in budget second year after took office, modi government reduced healthcare spending 15%. modi has emphasised government s efforts @ sanitation means of ensuring health. article in medical journal lancet stated country might have taken few steps in public health under modi.

on 2 october 2014, modi launched swachh bharat abhiyan ( clean india ) campaign. stated goals of campaign included eliminating open defecation , manual scavenging. plan achieve these aims in 5 years. part of programme, indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas , encouraging people use them. government announced plans build new sewage treatment plants. administration plans construct 60 million toilets 2019. construction projects have faced allegations of corruption, , have faced severe difficulty in getting people use toilets constructed them.

hindutva , education policy

during 2014 election campaign, bjp sought identify political leaders known have opposed hindu nationalism, including b. r. ambedkar, subhas chandra bose, , ram manohar lohia. campaign saw use of rhetoric based on hindutva, however, bjp leaders in states. communal tensions played upon in uttar pradesh , states of northeast india. proposal controversial uniform civil code part of bjp s election manifesto.

several state governments headed bjp have enacted policies aligned hindutva after election of modi prime minister. government of maharashtra banned killing of cows in 2014. modi administration has avoided directly supporting policies related hindutva agenda. there has been increase in activities of number of other hindu nationalist organisations, support of government. incidents included hindu religious conversion programme, campaign against alleged islamic practice of love jihad , , attempts celebrate nathuram godse, assassin of mahatma gandhi, members of right wing hindu mahasabha. attempts @ religious conversion have been described vhp , other organisations involved them attempts @ reconversion islam or christianity. there have been number of reports of intimidation or coercion of subjects during these attempts. officials in government, including home minister, have defended attempts. there additional incidents of violence targeted @ religious minorities hindu nationalists. modi refused remove government minister position after popular outcry resulted referring religious minorities bastards. commentators have suggested, however, violence perpetrated radical hindu nationalists undercut authority of modi.

the modi administration appointed yellapragada sudershan rao, had been associated rss, chairperson of indian council of historical research (ichr). in reaction appointment, other historians , former members of ichr, including sympathetic ruling party, questioned credentials historian. several stated appointment part of agenda of cultural nationalism.

the government began formulating new education policy, or nep, after election. of march 2016, policy had yet implemented. third education policy introduced indian government, following of 1968 , 1986. policy described having overtones of hindutva. rss had role in creation, , did not explicitly mention goals of socialism, secularism , democracy had been mentioned in first 2 policies. policy emphasised education of minority students, of economically backward groups, in particular on improving enrolment in schools among groups. policy proposed bringing religious educational institutions under right education act. there debate removing caste-based reservation in favour of reservation based on income, move supported rss, criticised being discriminatory on basis of caste.

foreign policy

foreign policy played relatively small role in modi s election campaign, , did not feature prominently in bjp s election manifesto. modi invited other leaders of saarc countries swearing in ceremony prime minister. first indian prime minister so.

modi s foreign policy, of preceding inc government, focused on improving economic ties, security, , regional relations. modi continued manmohan singh s policy of multialignment. modi administration tried attract foreign investment in indian economy several sources, in east asia, use of slogans such make in india , digital india . part of policy, modi government completed india s application join shanghai cooperation organisation, led china , russia. (sco). government tried improve relations islamic nations in middle east, such bahrain, iran, saudi arabia, , united arab emirates, israel. modi added 5 bilateral strategic partnerships 25 had been agreed predecessors singh , vajpayee.

during first few months after election, modi made trips number of different countries further goals of policy, , attended brics, asean, , g20 summits. 1 of modi s first visits prime minister nepal, during promised billion usd in aid. modi made several overtures united states, including multiple visits country. while described unexpected development, due having denied modi travel visa on role during 2002 gujarat riots, expected strengthen diplomatic , trade relations between 2 countries.

in 2015, indian parliament ratified land exchange deal bangladesh india–bangladesh enclaves, had been initiated government of manmohan singh. modi s administration gave renewed attention india s east policy , instituted in 1991. policy renamed act east policy , , involved directing indian foreign policy towards east asia , southeast asia. government signed agreements improve land connectivity myanmar, through state of manipur. represented break india s historic engagement myanmar, prioritised border security on trade. of july 2016, modi had made 51 trips 42 countries intent of strengthening diplomatic relations.

defence policy

10th president of israel reuven rivlin , chief of general staff of israel defense forces gadi eizenkot modi.

the bjp election manifesto had promised deal illegal immigration india in northeast, more firm in handling of insurgent groups. during election campaign, modi said willing accommodate hindu migrants being persecuted in bangladesh, came political objectives have sent back. modi government issued notification allowing hindu, sikh, , buddhist illegal immigrants pakistan , bangladesh legalise residency in india. government described measure being taken humanitarian reasons drew criticism several assamese organisations.

modi continued previous inc administration s policy of increasing military spending every year, announcing increase of 11% in military budget in 2015. increase larger average growth under congress.

the modi administration negotiated peace agreement largest faction of national socialist council of nagaland (nscm), announced in august 2015. naga insurgency in northwest india had begun in 1950s. nscm , government had agreed ceasefire in 1997, peace accord had not been signed. in 2015 government abrogated 15-year ceasefire khaplang faction of nscm (nscm-k). nscm-k responded series of attacks, killed 18 people. modi government carried out raid across border myanmar result, , labelled nscm-k terrorist organisation.

modi has repeatedly stated pakistan exporter of terrorism. on 29 september 2016, indian army stated had conducted surgical strike on terror launchpads in azad kashmir, although pakistan denied claim, , details of confrontation still in dispute.

environmental policies

modi (right) @ cop21 climate conference, in paris, announcing founding of international solar alliance (isa). november 2015.

in naming cabinet, modi renamed ministry of environment , forests ministry of environment, forests, , climate change. in first budget of government, money allotted ministry reduced more 50%. new ministry removed or diluted number of laws related environmental protection. these included no longer requiring clearance national board wildlife projects close protected areas, , allowing projects proceed before environmental clearance received. government tried reconstitute wildlife board such no longer had representatives non-governmental organisations: however, move prevented supreme court.

modi relaxed or abolished number of other environmental regulations, particularly related industrial activity. government committee stated existing system served create corruption, , government should instead rely on owners of industries voluntarily inform government pollution creating. other changes included reducing ministry oversight on small mining projects, , no longer requiring approval tribal councils projects inside forested areas. in addition, modi lifted moratorium on new industrial activity in polluted areas in countries. changes welcomed businesspeople, criticised environmentalists.

under upa government preceded modi s administration, field trials of genetically modified (gm) crops had been put on hold, after protests farmers fearing livelihoods. under modi government these restrictions gradually lifted. government received criticism freezing bank accounts of environmental group greenpeace, citing financial irregularities, although leaked government report said freeze had greenpeace s opposition gm crops.

governance , other initiatives

modi s first year prime minister saw significant centralisation of power relative previous administrations. modi s efforts @ centralisation have been linked increase in number of senior administration officials resigning positions. although government has majority of seats in lok sabha, not have 1 in rajya sabha, led policies being stymied there. thus, modi resorted passing number of ordinances enact policies, leading further centralisation of power. government passed bill increasing control had on appointment of judges, , reducing of judiciary.

on 31 december 2014, modi announced planning commission had been scrapped. replaced body called national institution transforming india, or niti aayog. planning commission legacy of indian independence movement, although critics said slowing economic growth. move had effect of centralising power planning commission in person of prime minister. reduced extent of control individual states had on financial allocation union government, , unlike planning commission, not have power allocate funds. planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years creating inefficiency in government, , of not filling role of improving social welfare: however, since economic liberalisation of 1990s, had been major government body responsible measures related social justice.

the modi government launched crackdown against number of civil society organisations. several tens of thousands of organisations investigated intelligence bureau in first year of administration, on grounds slowing economic growth. international humanitarian aid organisation medecins sans frontieres among groups put under pressure. other organisations affected included sierra club , avaaz. cases of sedition filed against individuals criticising government. led discontent within bjp regarding modi s style of functioning , drew comparisons governing style of indira gandhi.

modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first 3 years prime minister, against total of 1,301 such laws repealed previous governments on span of 64 years. started monthly radio programme titled mann ki baat on 3 october 2014. modi launched digital india programme, has goal of ensuring government services available electronically, building infrastructure provide high-speed internet access rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in country, , promoting digital literacy.