Narendra Modi PM

Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime Minister born after India’s independence from the British Empire.

Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister. Previous governments repealed a total of 1,301 such laws over a span of 64 years.

He started a monthly radio programme titled “Mann Ki Baat” on 3 October 2014.

Modi also launched the Digital India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically, building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy.

Narendra Modi PM- Economic Policies

The economic policies of Modi’s government focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, based on a neoliberal framework.

Later Modi liberalised India’s foreign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including in defence and the railways.

In September 2014, Modi introduced the Make in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India, with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub.

In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigate black money. Later on 9 November 2016, the government demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes. He stated his intention of curbing corruption, black money, the use of counterfeit currency, and terrorism.

Narendra Modi PM – Health and Sanitation

On 2 October 2014, Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (“Clean India”) campaign. The stated goals of the campaign included eliminating open defecation and manual scavenging within five years.

In 2018 Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, a government health insurance scheme intended to insure 500 million people. 1 lakh people had signed up by October 2018.

The Modi government launched New Health Policy (NHP) in January 2015. The policy did not increase the government’s spending on healthcare, instead emphasizing the role of private healthcare organisations.

Narendra Modi PM – Foreign policy

In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land exchange deal with Bangladesh about the India–Bangladesh enclaves, which government of Manmohan Singh initiated earlier.

Later Modi’s administration gave renewed attention to India’s “Look East Policy”, instituted in 1991. Soon he renamed the policy as “Act East Policy”, and involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia and Southeast Asia.

The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity with Myanmar, through the state of Manipur.

The Modi government issued a notification allowing Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh to legalise their residency in India.

The government also tried to improve relations with Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israel.

Narendra Modi PM – Defence Policy

India’s nominal military spending increased steadily under Modi. Modi promised to be “tough on Pakistan” during his election campaign, and repeatedly stated that Pakistan was an exporter of terrorism.

On 29 September 2016, the Indian Army stated that it had conducted a surgical strike on terror launchpads in Azad Kashmir.

The Indian media claimed that up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike. In February 2019 India carried out airstrikes in Pakistan against a supposed terrorist camp.

Further military skirmishes followed, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft.

Narendra Modi PM – Environmental Policy

Modi also relaxed or abolished a number of other environmental regulations, particularly those related to industrial activity.

A government committee stated that the existing system only served to create corruption. The government should instead rely on the owners of industries to voluntarily inform the government about the pollution they were creating.

The government received some criticism for freezing the bank accounts of environmental group Greenpeace, citing financial irregularities.

Although a leaked government report said that the freeze had to do with Greenpeace’s opposition to GM crops.