The concept of good governance is not confined to formulation of well-planned policies. It is equally about effective implementation. History is evidence to the fact that most brilliant ideas and good policies, unfortunately, fail on the count of implementation. Reviewed on this background, Modi 2.0 has made a significant mark in just one year, this government has been able to implement key promises with all the dexterity at its command.
Article 370 that had prevented Jammu and Kashmir from joining the mainstream of aspirational India is now a thing of the past; through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, India has discharged its tryst with humanity; and while fighting Covid-19, the government has shown remarkable alacrity in taking a comprehensive view of protecting both lives as well as livelihoods. And now, the nation is gearing up resolutely to become self-reliant through the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
To those doubting Thomases and doomsayers who are always skeptical about the ability of the government to implement ambitious plans and schemes, the performance of the last six years is a testimony. None other than the prime minister himself knows very well that good governance is also about mastering the art of implementation. Ever since PM Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the main focus of the administration has been to formulate strategies for efficacious delivery of the policies and schemes that the government has launched, particularly those aimed at socio-economic welfare. In fact, the massive mandate secured by PM Modi in 2019 was the direct result of this effective implementation of these government schemes.
As the Modi government completes the first year of the second stint, it is pertinent to analyse the factors that have helped in such remarkable implementation of these game-changing interventions.Most nations and global organisations have had to struggle hard on the implementation front. In India, similar schemes with different names were already being implemented for several years. Successive governments had repeatedly failed in result orientation. Contrasting those failures with the success of this regime in implementing its flagship social welfare schemes has been quite astonishing. What is it that changed so dramatically after 2014?
What differed with the Modi government is the single-minded purposefulness with which these schemes were ideated, given shape to and implemented, leading to some stupendous successes. Nothing brings this particular fact to the fore more effectively than the hard evidence of achievements on the implementation front. Today’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna was earlier, with some inherent flaws in its implementation, known as Indira Awas Yojana. Between 2010-14, the total number of houses built under this scheme were 89.65 lakhs whereas between 2015-19, the total number reached up to 1.01 crores. This means the Modi government was able to build 2.84 lakh houses additionally per year.
The story is the same with providing toilets. Between the five years of 2009-14, under the then Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, the total number of toilets built annually stood at 85.97 lakhs while during the next five years, under the Modi regime, toilets built under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan numbered 2.17 crores annually. The bureaucracy was the same, rules and regulations were also almost the same, but the purity of purpose with which the apex leadership worked made a big difference.
Many governance experts give total credit to this factor when it comes to the enhanced level of motivation of implementers.And this is not confined to welfare schemes alone. Let’s compare the massive infrastructure created for the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana of 2009-14. During those five years, an average of 32.6 lakh households were covered annually, while in the next five years, under SAUBHAGYA, almost double the number—61.4 lakh—were covered. The story is not different when it comes to the National Optical Fibre Network. Before 2014, just 1,792.6 kilometres of network was created annually, whereas the length of network created annually went up to 91,718 kilometres after 2014. A mind-boggling feat, indeed.
What does a minute analysis of the design of implementation bring to the fore? First is the unified comprehensive vision and design! While outwardly a particular scheme may appear to be standalone, in most cases it is a part of a more holistic approach and hence a wider plan. The ‘no-frills accounts’ created by RBI were transformed into the Jan Dhan Yojana, with a long-term broad action plan to provide direct financial assistance of various schemes through these accounts. PMAY mandated convergence of Swachh Bharat Mission, Ujjwala Yojana and SAUBHAGYA amongst others.
Next comes effective outreach and involvement. There has been a structured attempt to generate greater awareness about the scheme. This ensured wider outreach and participation of beneficiaries and local officials. Schemes like SBM were structured around behavioural change, which was a key differentiator from the previous attempts.
Greater and more effective use of IT and other technologies comes next. Among other things, a mechanism of 24x7 monitoring through dashboards was a universal feature. Use of the latest technologies, like space technology and drones, was also unprecedented in many sectors. Geo-spatial tagging of assets created in PMAY or SBM, national remote sensing capacities and geo-spatial technology harnessed through ISRO’s Bhuvan platform provided unparalleled public access to asset information, uploading, synchronising and monitoring.
Last but not least is the single-minded focus on transparency and accountability. A credible selection of beneficiaries and effective plugging of loopholes coupled with a robust mechanism of accountability brought remarkable results. The most effective of the monitoring mechanisms evolved was PRAGATI, a multi-purpose, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation.
All this underscores that Prime Minister Modi is not just a mass leader, but someone who has also very adroitly mastered the art of implementation.
Vinay Sahasrabuddhe
President, ICCR, National Vice President, BJP and Rajya Sabha MP
(vinays57@gmail.com)