A Bumpy Ride So Far

A dismal jobs scenario, high inflation and rural distress take the sheen off the government’s push for transparency and accountability

- M.G. Arun

AMONG THE HIGHLIGHTS of the Bhara­ tiya Janata Party’s (BJP) campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections was the sluggish state of the Indian economy under Manmohan Singh, especially his second term. The 2G and coal scams gave the opposition enough ammunition to use against the UPA­II government. In contrast, Narendra Modi showcased his ‘Gujarat model’ of development—a red­carpet welcome to industry, better infrastructure, including land, unhin­ dered power supply and a disciplined labour force—that could take India on a high­growth trajectory, resulting in more enterprises, more jobs, and more money with the people. It would be a departure from the socialist policies of the past, best encapsulated in the slogan: ‘minimum government, maximum governance’.

More than four years into the Modi govern­ ment, the picture of the economy—as the MOTN survey shows—appears not so flattering. There are concerns on most fronts—jobs, industry, exports, inflation, fuel prices, banking, divestment and cor­ ruption at the grassroots.