So, the campaigns for India’s next leader elections have begun. I’d say it’s time to evaluate Modiji’s performance. We’ve all heard that BJP is targeting minority religions and though, Modiji’s justice system is punishing the offenders, people like to focus on the negative. Not only focus on it, but also draw as much attention to it as possible. Religious views are often polarizing and those that have made up their minds that Modi is the antagonist are going to be a tough sell in 2019. It might even be pointless to debate the issue. His opponents are vigorous and have probably accumulated a lot of support for their claims (mostly, stuff they’ve seen on the internet. So it must be true).

But let’s draw attention to some key aspects of India’s growth and development. Has Modiji really done nothing? 

 

Demonetization

Theoretically, a solid move — so poorly implemented that honest, working class people needlessly suffered because of it. Why? The ATM machines weren’t configured to the new notes and there was a gross shortage in supply. I could go on and on about the operational glitches of the move, but let’s circle back to the intention behind it — recovering black money. As far as this intention is concerned, what are the facts about what was finally accomplished?

 

  • Rs 65,250 crores of undisclosed income was disclosed in 2016. At the current tax rate, this generated an additional income tax of Rs 29,362.5 crores.
  • Income tax returns increased from 43.3 million to 52.9 million between Fiscal Year 2016 and Fiscal Year 2017.

 

  • 56 lakh new tax payers between April 1 and August 5 2017. This number could be even bigger, today.
  • 26.2 % increase in income tax collection till 15 June 2017. Again, this number could be bigger, today.

 

      The other thing to consider is the composition of the nation’s tax base. Salaried people have their tax deducted at the source. They have never been a concern. They account  for about half of the total tax revenue. Non-salaried, business and freelance workers are the concern. Although these numbers are modest in absolute terms, I feel encouraged, especially since the scheme was launched only months ago. Think of the psychological impact — the government influence that the corrupt relied on for protection and secrecy is now actively working against them. Ironic, isn’t it?

 

Digital India Campaign

Indian society is in for some major reform through the Digital India Campaign. But as far as corruption is concerned, one particular pillar comes to mind:

 

 

  • E-governance – This is from the official page:

“All databases and information should be in electronic form and not manual. The workflow inside government departments and agencies should be automated to enable efficient government processes and also to allow visibility of these processes to citizens. IT should be used to automate, respond and analyze data to identify and resolve persistent problems. These would be largely process improvements.”

 

And this is from Modiji’s silver tongue:

“Access to governance has to be guaranteed with transparent systems that deliver responses and outcomes. The strengthening of democratic governance empowers the population to become active partners in the growth process.”

 

The system will be transparent, easy to access and distribute, and online, all the way. Information storage and retrieval will be completely electronic. All specifications of a person living in India — their identity details, their bank information and more — will be linked to their Adhar card. Adhar cards work using fingerprints. So unless somebody is mildly gruesome, it would be impossible to falsify and duplicate records.

 

You can follow all the developments, here: Digital India twitter    

Thank you for reading. Leave a comment below!

 

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