The government has "taken steps to create the environment for investment, which I think is important. My sense is that things are happening” says RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. Industry doyen and India's most respected business leader Narayan Murthy has this to say, "We have a PM who is enthusiastic and working hard. People, all parties, the Opposition should rally behind him. I think a lot of good things have happened, but it's still early to say. Therefore, we must all be with the PM and support him...”
“An action-packed year has gone by and CII believes that economic strategies and deliverables have gained huge momentum... The Government has Exceeded Expectations,” says CII President, Sumit Mazumder.
And if that's not praise enough, then here is what India's top women in the business league, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and MD of Biocon, India's largest Biotechnology company said through a tweet “If u compare one year performances of previous Govts. Modi govt has performed admirably despite challenging obstacles”.
In a chat with television channel ET Now, RC Bhargava, Chairman of Maruti Suzuki put it more succinctly by saying “We have to view this in the context of what was inherited a year ago. At that time, there were a number of issues which had made all of us and the economy very despondent about the future. One area was corruption. Now in this last year, we have had no instance of a single scam. We have had a system of allocating natural resources like coal and spectrum done by a transparent auction system. The process has worked well and there have been no issues there. So, one major area of concern, that is corruption and crony capitalism has disappeared”.
These comments amongst much praise across all factions of society come in as Prime Minister Narendra Modi completes one year in office. So what does his report card show? Honourable Rahul Gandhi has given him a 0/10. Bizarre, but we forgive him for he knows not or sees not the ground reality...How he arrived at that number is anybody's guess. But let’s leave the comedy out of this.
On a serious note, I personally believe, Modi has repositioned India's standing on the global stage. And this among other things is his most important achievement, that too, in a situation when the world had just begun to think that India was turning into a 'banana republic'. Today, India's growth story is making world headlines and global investors are making a bee line to get their footprints or rather investments established here.
His diplomatic handling and the subsequent easing of tensions with our neighbours, mainly China is the icing on the cake. His 'Make in India' ambition is a strong statement that displays the underlying confidence in himself and our country. This among other small, but significantly important steps through the past year make the performance of the government commendable.
Not that all is hunky-dory. We have a government that finds itself log jammed on various reform measures, thanks to an uncooperative opposition, which believes that putting political interest above national interest is perfectly OK. So with one hand tied behind his back, I still believe that this is a man who could take India far ahead, the limitations and handicaps notwithstanding. Give him time and I think Modi would take the country into the super power league; a place where it belongs to; a place where it should have reached a decade ago.
Bottom line: Who's impressed with Modi? Well its atleast me and a vast majority of right thinking Indians, who believe that this is a prime minister, who leads from the front. A prime minister with vision and integrity...
Praise Enough!