PM Narendra Modi’s Reform Agenda: Can It Lead to Sustainable Growth for India?

From 2004 to 2014, India was governed by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), an alliance formed by a coalition of center-left political parties led by the Indian National Congress Party (Congress). The UPA formed the government after the general elections of 2004 and then in 2009, and was in power for almost a decade under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. During the decade, the Indian economy experienced many hits and many flops. Many analysts were of the view that it had been a lost decade for the country which, though capable of achieving new heights of success, lost the opportunity due to increased corruption and policy paralysis. The GDP growth rate for the 10-year period plunged to the slowest pace of 4.6 percent.

The UPA government floated many policies and programs. Many were hits but others failed. On September 07, 2005, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was notified. Its objective was ‘to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work’. In the same year, another crucial act, the Right to Information Act, was passed that enabled citizens to secure access to information which was under the control of public authorities.