 "A flying start, some tough decisions and a rollback")
The Railways on Tuesday announced the recent increase of 14.6 per cent in passenger fares would not apply to second-class suburban journeys up to 80 km.
Even as it is completing 30 days in office, the Modi government is in the midst of a tussle being played out between the premier Delhi University (DU), and the University Grants Commission (UGC) over a four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP). The fight between the two bodies has delayed college admissions, triggered the resignation of DU's vice-chancellor, Dinesh Singh, and is set to affect thousands of students - a significant vote bank for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Later, though, there were reports suggesting Singh's resignation was merely a "threat". The Modi government could have done without this face-off in its early days, especially as the Iraq crisis was already keeping the establishment on its toes, observers said.
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Govt's first steps
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In fact, there has been no dearth of rows. The Modi regime, for instance, is seen attempting to stamp out all traces of the previous rule - it has tried to change the governors and heads of other constitutional bodies like the National Commission for Women and National Commission for SC/STs. Even appointment ministers' private secretaries is now going through a rigorous process, with direct or indirect vetting by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Private secretaries (PS) from the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) days are being distanced from the current ministers. However, Modi unexpectedly chose to get Rajeev Topno, a Gujarat-cadre IAS officer who was working as a director in Manmohan Singh's PMO, as his own PS last week.
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Other PMO appointments, too, have been unusual - an Ordinance was introduced to change the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Act and enable former Trai chairman Nripendra Misra's appointment as principal secretary to the prime minister. Another top-level PMO appointment - of Rajiv Nayan Choubey - was cancelled within a week of being made over hierarchy issues.
K M Chandrasekhar, who was the Cabinet secretary in the UPA government, told Business Standard the governance style under Modi appeared focused and direct. "During my visit to Delhi last week, I got an impression that there was considerable vigour and vitality in the administration, and a sense of ownership and accountability."
On abolition of groups of ministers (GoMs) and empowered groups of ministers (EGoMs), he said the move could help speed up decisions "if differing opinions can be settled within the Cabinet or its committees, ministers are willing and ready to take decisions following the procedures laid down clearly in the Rules of Transaction of Business, and there is enough decentralisation and delegation within the government." According to Chandrasekhar, now vice-chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board, there is no reason why a ministry should not be able to give its views on any Cabinet note within two weeks.
Another former bureaucrat, who did not wish to be named, was more critical: "Though the government has been at work with hammer and chisel in its quest for a new order, what has emerged so far is inchoate and not convincingly suggestive of good or better days." One of the defining aspects of the current government is that it has left the Planning Commission in limbo for a month by not involving it in the Budget-making process and, for the first time in its history, not appointing a deputy chairman, he said.
However, the first striking initiative by this government was Modi's diplomacy with neighbouring countries, even inviting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his oath-taking ceremony and holding bilateral talks with heads of Saarc countries. His first foreign visit was also to a neighbouring country, Bhutan.
Commenting on the government's foreign policy, Congress leader and former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid, however, said: "This government is in a great haste to score brownie points." Khurshid faulted Modi for talking of India's size before Bhutan - while addressing Bhutan's Parliament, Modi had said: "The stronger India will be, the better it is for Bhutan and other Saarc nations. A strong and stable India is needed to make sure we can help our neighbours with their problems." According to Khurshid, "that's not the way to talk to a neighbour like Bhutan". Even as he said he did not see a great deal of light in the Modi government yet, the former minister added "we should wait and see". Some of Khurshid's UPA government colleagues like Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh had earlier backed Modi for his style of functioning but were subsequently criticised by partymen. Khurshid, though critical of some aspects of Modi's governance style, is supportive of Tharoor and Ramesh.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram recently refused to assess the Modi government at a press briefing, saying "I'm not a rating agency". But industry seems to be more upbeat about giving a report card on the new PM. Naresh Takkar, managing director of investment information and credit rating agency Icra, gave Modi eight on a scale of 10 for his performance in the first 30 days. But Takkar also threw in the caveat that "time has been short". While pointing out that there has been positive action by the government on reducing red tape and de-layering decisions, Takkar said there were many more challenges that required considered and deliberated effort.
Key challenges for the government at present include a weak monsoon, inflation and Iraq crisis. Since Modi recently said tough decisions must be taken to revive the economy and that bitter pill was a necessity as "UPA left the coffers empty", all eyes are now on the Union Budget, likely on July 10, to see what the PM might have meant.
Industry is happy with what the Modi government has done thus far, but the Budget will tell much of the real story. Confederation of Indian Industry Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said: "The new government has got off to a flying start in its first month." Decisions for controlling inflation, rail fare pricing and some other calls were necessary and would lay a good base for future growth, Banerjee said. "We look forward to a Budget that will contribute to building a facilitative investment climate. CII's growth projection for the year stands at 5.5 per cent, but this could be exceeded with progressive and rapid policy action."
As for Budget, among other things, the government has already indicated in the context of the Vodafone case that it is against imposition of retrospective taxes on companies. However, going by indications from the PM, there could be some tough decisions, too.
A communication firewall, already visible in various ministries and government departments, might dampen the spirit of "vigour" that the former Cabinet secretary referred to. There seem to be orders from the top that ministers and bureaucrats should focus on policy and decision-making rather than talking to the media. Most communication from the government now is one-sided - through social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter, aided by the government's Press Information Bureau (PIB), with little room for questions and answers. For example, when the media wanted an update on the DU-UGC tussle, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani said: "I'm not at a liberty to talk."
Brand consultant Kiran Khalap says he welcomes the many cyber platforms that Modi has chosen to talk from, but adds a dialogue should be allowed through some mechanism. "Otherwise it will rapidly reduce itself to propaganda"
However, as Chandrasekhar put it, these are still early days for the new government and "I'm sure a new equilibrium will be built in due course".