REFORMS WITHOUT BOMBAST: MODI GOVT STREAMLINES PROCESSES

WHEN, it comes to economic reforms, in our obsession to look for big-bang, newsworthy headlines we tend to miss out on seemingly smaller developments.

- GOPAL KRISHNA AGARWAL

Media and the chatterati look for hotly contested issues, where passions run high and the political economy of the country makes progress very challenging. An unfortunate consequence of this bias is a lack of fair assessment of the many ways in which the Government is upending the entrenched system of governance. Political corruption at the highest levels was one of the most important issues in the run-up to the 2014 general elections. With the Modi Government taking over the reins in 2014, that variant of corruption was eliminated. Laws and policies are no longer made in return for kickbacks. However, the harassment and corruption at lower-level causing difficulties to businesses and citizens is a different animal altogether. Recognising the need for a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to tackle this menace, Modi Government has initiated several measures.

Modi Government in the last 10 years has initiated several steps to streamline processes, repeal redundant laws and regulations and eliminate discretion. This has led to marked changes in the way citizens interact with the bureaucracy. The threat of fastening criminal charges on violations of laws, rules and regulations was a threat that facilitated easy extraction of money from businesses. Minor violations have now been decriminalised by the government and violators can only be made to pay fines. The other area of reform is the repeal of obsolete and redundant laws and regulations. Modi government in last 11 years has repealed over 1500 laws and eliminated over 40,000 unnecessary compliances.