The Modi government (Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)) is now in its final lap leading up to the 2019 Lok Sabha general elections. There has been a massive and unprecedented scheme of events ever since Narendra Modi came to power – the nation led by him suddenly sprung into full gear!
Be it measures to curb inflation, harness black money, adjusting various macroeconomic parameters or trying to appease their impending vote-bank – the Modi led cabinet at the center has tried its best to everything possible within these 4 and a half years!
In this article, we evaluate some of the key government schemes under the Modi government and how they performed as per public expectation:
UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) Scheme – Regional Connectivity
The scheme inaugurated in Shimla has been a massive hit! Not only does it offer end-to-end connectivity to commuters of smaller towns, it helps them do so via air travel! The Udan Scheme was launched by the Government of India in April 2017.
In the initial phase of this scheme, 43 cities will be connected to the mainstream air connectivity network. 31 such cities already have small airports, but do not operate commercial flights. This scheme will help them to ease the burden on existing domestic and international airports of India.
Positive
- A perfect amalgamation of road, civil aviation, railway, and waterway transportation for all types of commuters by linking them to airways.
- The scheme offers fares starting at as low as Rs. 2,500!
Negative
- Air India is going to be the main carrier for such discounted flights in most cases, and its value of service is still under doubt.
- The scheme is still in a nascent stage; many local carriers are yet to join the scheme owing to state government red tape and cost of running a business.
Agriculture – Curbing Farmer Woes
The Modi government has promised to double basic farmer incomes by 2022. Moreover, the recently announced crop insurance scheme and rural healthcare plans promise to cut down unnecessary cost burdens on the farmers and will help them to divert their funds for better crop selection and management.
Positive
- The crop insurance scheme will help farmers to counter weather-related risks and to use future cold-storage units coming up in their states to store their produce.
- The “one nation, one market” idea of Modi will really help farmers sell their produce locally and reducing wastage rather than having to wait longer to seek a buyer.
Negative
- The massive decline in prices of wholesale purchase of vegetables, fruits, food grains, and pulses has not really helped increase farm incomes till now. This is a major reason for continued farmer suicides.
- Massive drought is denting optimal produce and this is why western and southern states of India are also experiencing farmer deaths and loan defaults.
- The loan waivers are not enough. A massive bail-out package needs to be introduced to help farmers survive.
Saubhagya – Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana
The Rs. 16320 crore scheme aims at providing non-stop electricity to more than 40 million households in urban and rural India by December 2018.
Positive
The scheme will bring into its ambit 10 percent more village households to be considered as electrified.
Negative
The entire nation still languishes over hefty electricity bills since the scheme does not provide any subsidy on electricity tariffs for BPL families.
Khelo India Scheme 2017-18
The scheme was launched in August 2017 to identify and groom budding sportspersons in India who are in dearth of funds or who are yet to be noticed.
Positive
- 1000 young sportspersons will be identified under this scheme and trained for 8 continuous years. Additionally, they will receive an Rs. 5 lakh scholarship each.
- The scheme aims to encourage 200 million more children in the country via the National Sports Talent Search Portal where young sportspersons can reach out to the Sports Ministry to showcase their talent.
Negative
- The budget allocated for this scheme is very low at a meager 1756 crore (263 Million) which is far less than the budget a smaller country like USA (USOC budget approximately $795 Million) spends on its sportspersons.
- The scheme has been introduced very late. We are already on the cusp of the Commonwealth Games, the hockey Women’s World Cup and the football World Cup all due to be held in 2018.
Shadi Shagun Scheme
The scheme provides Muslim girls who have completed their graduation with a ‘shaadi’ gift of Rs. 51000 to help them pursue their higher education. The benefit will not be given to any girl who is married prior to the completion of her undergraduate studies
Positive
The scheme is a way of encouraging girls to complete their education before getting married and to achieve their dreams before resorting to becoming a housewife.
Negative
The scheme hasn’t kick-started yet as The Maulana Azad Educational Foundation (the institution meant to be delivering this scheme) has delayed with the rollout of their website where this scheme is supposed to be administered from.
Sankalp Se Siddhi
The Attainment through Resolve has been launched by the Ministry of Culture to promote good governance. The scheme is a five-year plan that will be run from 2017 to 2022.
Positive
- The scheme promotes the combat of terrorism, eradication of social divide and aims to educate people about environment protection via door to door garbage collection schemes.
- The scheme will be carried out by using various state government schemes to achieve its objectives like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Swatchh Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana, Mission Indradhanush, Start UP India, Stand UP India, Make in India, etc.
- The government claims that already Rs. 57,000 crore have been saved from such ongoing schemes by adopting good governance and better technology as part of this initiative.
Negative
- The initiative is good, but on the ground, it is still a flop since people are unwilling to adopt these practices out of laziness or mistrust.
- The scheme is still at the grassroots level in urban cities, in rural areas, it is yet to kick off in a larger manner.
These are just a few schemes out of the hundreds announced under Modi’s leadership. Let us know how you feel about these and other schemes and if you are impressed them. Will you vote for Modi again? Comment below!
