By Samruddhi Khanna
Edited by?Namitha Sadanand,Senior Editor,The Indian Economistt
On September 2nd, 2014,?Narendra?Modi?completed?100?days?of?being in power as the?Prime?Minister.??Good news, bad news, right?decisions, wrong?decisions, development,?and growth?? it really depends all on your perspective.??I don?t know if the?much talked about??good days? are here yet; I don?t know?of?the comparative analysis of the performance as against the previous government; I don?t know if we are on the right path.? All I know is that?I have seen more action?taken by our?new leader in a?hundred?days than I?have?by our previous leader?over?a decade.
My personal opinions as?an?individual?regarding?the?politics of India are completely?inconsequential.?However, my opinions as a finance student and a part-time?investor?do matter;?like those of?others,?they?are completely positive.??The new government has fulfilled all its promises?in terms of business?and?the economy.??The?bulletins about?the prime stock indices?hitting?an all-time high have become daily occurrences on the news.??The returns on the investments made were?as?expected.?The increased liberalization in?the flow of?FDI under the recent Union Budget, along with the positive market sentiments have augmented India?s image as an investment hub, which has also been helped by?the pro ? business attitude of the government.
Another thing that has been much appreciated at an international level?is?the attention given to foreign relations.??Right from day one,?he?has?elucidated upon the importance of?foreign?relations?through his actions.??He invited all the SAARC nation heads?to?his swearing-in ceremony which gave a strong message?signalling?that the?NDA?is?keen on?reaching?out to its?neighbouring nations.??He visited Brazil,?our loyal neighbour Bhutan?and?was the first?PM?to visit Nepal in the last 17 years.?He?also made a?trip to Japan recently,?which led to the inception of the?’Special Strategic Global Partnership’?between?both countries.
Few other positive highlights of the previous 100 days include addressing the issue of?policy paralysis that?worried the UPA?over?the?past 2 years;?the?Jan?Dhan?Yojana?which is aimed at eradicating financial?untouchability; promoting the concepts of Digital India and social media governance,?and the?much talked about vision of the?bullet trains.
Like the concept?of Yin?and?Yang, there?are two sides to the coin?here?as well.??Approval is a relative?concept-what can be the cause of approval for one can be?the source of criticism for another.??Similarly, there are aspects of the?Modi?government which have been?disapproved of?in general,?but?there?are?due?explanations?for it by?Modi?torchbearers.??Take the issue of the cancelled talks with Pakistan regarding the Kashmir issue.??Some view it as an?unnecessary delay in the progress of the issue?while others view it as?Modi?sending?across?a message of?stern leadership.?The back-to-back cease fire violations by Pakistan and to?even China has brought an obvious wave of criticism.? Similarly, the sacking of several UPA appointed governors?has led to accusations as well as appreciation.??There have been mixed?reviews, debates and criticism?on various other issues like?Article 370,?the?Union Budget etc.
Most importantly, there?has?been a lot of talk?about the leadership style of?the man himself.?Few call him a people?s person while others call him a bureaucrat.?As?aforementioned, I am no proper judge?of his performance,?but I think that the fact that?it?is being assessed in just a?hundred?days is in itself a hidden compliment.? As?for?the ?Achche?Din”,?we will have to wait and see, won?t we?
Samrudhi is pursuing Financial Markets at Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai. Besides financial markets, her interests are writing, literature and dancing. Reading is second nature to her ? classis literature, Austen, Archer, Bronte sisters and Sheldon are her loyal friends! Writing is another thing she takes great pleasure in and economics, current affairs, polictics are her favorite topics. Having a complete aversion to all types of social networking mediums, you can get in touch with her only through her email: [email protected]!
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