Now that Modi is at the helm of affairs on the national stage, what he does or does not do is going to have a direct influence on my daily life. Unlike earlier, it’s not just the front page of a newspaper I look forward to, but the news on the inside pages the small stories like the one about there being no more a need for a gazetted officer to get certificates or photo attested every time we fill an application form.
If you haven’t heard already, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a meeting with bureaucrats on Wednesday, said that self-attestation should be enough because it is a hassle for the common man to get it done by gazetted officers. He also told officials that all Government application forms should be made short and simple by removing unnecessary fields.
This small decision speaks volumes about the get-down-to-business attitude of this Prime Minister. At the same meeting with bureaucrats, Narendra Modi underlined the need for usage of Information Technology and e-governance in the functioning of Ministries. Modi, who is constantly on his iPad and clicks selfies with his smartphone, told the Secretaries of different Ministries that there is need to resolve people’s grievances on a fast-track basis and expedite decision-making with the use of modern technology. He also spoke of the need to develop systems for effective monitoring and resolution of issues. Modi asked them to repeal archaic processes, reduce decision-making layers, and to stay in touch with him if it helps in expediting decision-making.
Politics that makes sense
His fondness for efficiency was evident from the day he took oath with a leaner Council of Ministers having only 45 members (including 23 Cabinet members). This was in stark contrast with the Manmohan Singh Government which had 78 Ministers. A smaller Cabinet will help Modi in streamlining operations and speed up ground-level implementation.
Does it make sense to you when Sachin Tendulkar, a legendary Indian cricketer, endorses MRF tyres, or canon cameras or TVS bikes or Castrol engine oil! You are suffering from celebrity syndrome, if you buy TVS bikes just because Sachin, who I never saw or can even imagine riding a bike, endorses it. This paradox came rushing to my memory when the Modi Government announced that unlike before, all scientific delegations to foreign countries will now be led by eminent scientists and not by Ministers. “By this, scientists will get more and wider range of opportunities to interact with scientific fraternity within the country and abroad. This is actually going to be useful for the country,” Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said.
This is like Michael Schumacher, a champion race car driver, endorsing a car. It makes perfect sense!
Laying a new aadhaar
In yet another bid to free India from the shackles of unnecessary procedures and to cure policy paralysis, this Tuesday, Modi abolished four Cabinet committees from the Congress era, including the Cabinet Committee on the Unique Identification Authority of India which deals with the Aadhaar card. The Government said that the major decisions on Aadhaar card have already been taken and the remaining issues will be handled by the Cabinet committee on economic affairs. Aadhaar card, an over-ambitious and controversial project spawned by the incompetent UPA, failed miserably, exposing citizens’ private lives to prying eyes and putting national security at risk.
This was in accordance with his decision on May 31 to abolish all the 21 Group of Ministers (GoMs) and 9 Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoMs), set up by the previous Congress regime, and responsible for the policy paralysis that had affected the UPA Government’s decision-making machinery.
Governance that flows like water
Implementing a unique idea, the Modi Government on June 9 decided to send water to crisis-hit parts of the country by the railways. The idea to send water to crisis-hit areas by train is not new. But the plan has been executed so far in areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat and now it has been decided to cover the entire country. Generations have passed since the State and Central Governments have been handling the monsoon problem, but hardly helping people. This decision, temporary as it may be, solves the problem now and not in the future. It helps the present generation instead of giving them hopes for their children. This is in sync with the ambitions of the restless youth of the country who want change now, not tomorrow.
‘Change’ has been the buzzword in the entire campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha election and change is what we are witnessing. With all this revolutionary decisions by Narendra Modi within days of taking charge, one hopes that the wave of positivity that has been unleashed, lasts.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Amol Parth
Quelle/Source: Niticentral, 12.06.2014
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
