Part 1: Economic revival policy

(Baonghean) - On May 26, 2014, in New Delhi, Mr. Narendra Modi took office as Prime Minister of India with the presence of more than 4,000 guests, including 8 heads of state and heads of government of countries (mainly from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation - SAARC), especially the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

After one year as Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi left a strong mark in implementing domestic and foreign policies of the South Asian "Giant".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

1. Legacy of the Predecessor

In the 10 years (2004 - 2014), under the United Progressive Alliance with the core being the Congress Party (UPA) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India has achieved quite impressive achievements both domestically and internationally.

Economically, the growth rate has been consistently high at 7 - 7.6%/year. Since 2010, many people have predicted that India will soon catch up with Japan and become one of the largest economies in the world between 2020 - 2025.

However, in the second half of Prime Minister M. Singh's second term (2012 - 2014), the Indian economy began to stagnate with many shortcomings.

Since 2012, the Indian economy has slowed down, public finances have encountered difficulties, and investment capital has declined significantly. The cumbersome state administrative apparatus, many layers of intermediaries, widespread bureaucracy and corruption have discouraged domestic and foreign investors.

In 2014, the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank (WB) ranked India 134/189 in terms of complexity in business procedures, 182/189 in terms of difficulty in obtaining construction permits, 179/189 in terms of obtaining business establishment permits, and 186/189 in terms of contract execution.

In terms of foreign affairs, Prime Minister M. Singh has maintained a balanced and stable relationship with countries, especially the great powers of Russia, the United States, China, Japan and neighboring countries in South Asia. Along with the traditional relationship with Russia, the dominant trend (not publicly declared) in foreign affairs is leaning towards the United States. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is considered the most pro-American Indian leader since India gained independence 67 years ago." However, the relationship with the United States is still generally vague, hesitant and has not made a breakthrough.

Regarding China, under Prime Minister M. Singh in particular and during more than half a century of Congress Party rule in general, India has always been on the defensive, passively responding to Beijing's actions.

It is noteworthy that during his 10 years as Prime Minister of India, Mr. M. Singh has never visited neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives. In particular, he has not made any official visit to Pakistan - a major nuclear-armed country with a history of grudges against India and still has many grudges in relations.

Mr. MK Bhadrakumar, a professional diplomat who served as Indian Ambassador to many countries, commented that "the Manmohan Singh administration was 'timid' and lacked creativity' in foreign affairs. In general, it can be observed that under Prime Minister M. Singh (2004 - 2014), India's role and position declined in the region and on the international stage.

2. Narendra Modi Style

Unlike all previous Indian Prime Ministers - who all came from noble and prestigious families, Mr. N. Modi came from a common family. As someone who has experienced all levels of Indian society, contemplating the suffering of the poor and the weak, Mr. Modi deeply understands that poverty and ignorance are the greatest humiliation for a person, a community and for the whole nation. That is what motivated him to act and find every way to bring the Indian nation out of poverty and ignorance, to regain glory for the Indian nation - once a center of human civilization. In an interview (May 2014), Mr. Modi affirmed his above-mentioned political ideal: "I have the desire to live for the nation... I have learned to live for others, not for myself".

In particular, Prime Minister Modi pays great attention to the youth of India. As the youngest country in the world, of the 1.27 billion people of India, more than 50% are under the age of 25 and 65% are under the age of 35. The priority direction in Prime Minister Modi's socio-economic development policy is to create more jobs, reduce unemployment, especially among young workers. At the same time, it is necessary to quickly restore economic growth, reduce inflation and ensure social security.

Offering decisive, radical and groundbreaking solutions is the path that Mr. Modi has chosen to pursue his ambition of reviving India, with clean hands and boldness that have become his "brand" and political style.

3. Economic development and anti-corruption

Mr. Modi's two breakthrough policies to revive the Indian economy are: 1. Restoring rapid, sustainable economic growth and 2. Fighting corruption, determined to build clean, effective government agencies for the people.

These two issues are organically related to each other.

In India, as in many other countries, corruption and bureaucracy are "deep-rooted" problems that exist and develop persistently, taking root in the ruling apparatus. The predecessors organized anti-bureaucracy and corruption campaigns but without results. In his first year as Prime Minister, Mr. N. Modi began to solve many basic problems: 1. Public transparency in the activities of public agencies from the central to state and local governments; 2. Organize public civil service examinations; 3. Reduce intermediaries; 4. Eliminate civil servants who do not fulfill their duties and are of poor quality; 5. Clearly define the responsibilities of the heads of organizations and agencies; 6. Innovate the content and methods of training civil servants; 7. Reorganize the power monitoring system for all officials and civil servants.

To bring the economy out of stagnation and into a cycle of rapid, sustainable growth, Prime Minister Modi also simultaneously implemented two policies: 1. Lowering lending interest rates, creating the most favorable conditions for private enterprises and domestic and foreign economic groups; 2. Special incentives for foreign enterprises to invest in improving socio-economic infrastructure, especially the railway, road, airport and port systems.

Prime Minister Modi’s new economic policy has begun to take effect. As barriers are removed and bottlenecks are cleared, the Indian economy begins to transform, gradually emerging from stagnation.

(continued)

Major General Le Van Cuong

(Former Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies - Ministry of Public Security)