Impressive report card

PM's I-Day speech signals shift to on-ground implementation

In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed that his government has shifted to focusing almost entirely on the implementation of previously announced schemes and measures. The PM focused on measures he said made administration more accountable and responsive, and on the government's "report card". The numbers he presented were impressive. For example, he mentioned that 15,000 railway tickets could now be booked online every minute. This follows the purchase of two new servers last year that doubled capacity; the e-ticketing system launched in April 2013 has grown from 2,000 tickets a minute to the current 15,000. He spent some time on the successful programme to reduce the price and increase the usage of LED bulbs, which has led to considerable power savings; and on the number of new bank accounts, toilets and liquefied petroleum gas connections for rural households. His point was that when the systems are put in place, taking decisions on things such as new rural roads and railway lines becomes easier. The PM mentioned that 3,500 km of railway lines have been commissioned in two years - again, this holds up to scrutiny, with 1,900 km commissioned in 2014-15 and 1,800 km in 2015-16. He also mentioned the turnaround in the fortunes of public sector companies such as BSNL and Air India - both the companies have started making operating profits, though it can be argued that the latter has benefited mainly from lower crude oil prices.

The government's shift to emphasising implementation is welcome. Its first two years have featured a plethora of new launches and promises - most of which are only partially complete. The PM said that he intended to ensure that there was a difference between announcing something new and getting it done "on the ground". But niggling questions remain: Without deeper administrative reform, can the state machinery be genuinely made more accountable? Many of the examples he gave were of processes being moved online. Digitalisation is indeed an effective tool for increasing the speed of service delivery. But it is an imperfect substitute for changing and simplifying the processes themselves. Mr Modi's speech was notable also for how his tone has shifted over the years that he has been in office. Two years ago, his first Independence Day speech addressed investors, domestic and foreign, directly and at length. This speech focused instead on the concerns of India's rural poor and its aspirational youth. In that sense, this was a clearly political exercise, with an eye on the approaching Uttar Pradesh elections - and perhaps even on the rapidly approaching run-up to the general elections in 2019.

Two other points were worth noting. First, reform of the monetary policy framework featured in the speech, as part of the government's commitment to bring down inflation. The PM pivoted effortlessly from addressing concerns about the high price of certain foodstuffs to promising that his government would be tough on inflation, which is where the inflation-targeting pact with the Reserve Bank of India was cited as evidence. The other remarkable statement was the PM's reference to Gilgit-Baltistan and to Balochistan in Pakistan. These are not only rarely referenced by previous PMs, but not usually the fodder of Independence Day speeches. Whether they are simple reactions to recent statements by Pakistani authorities on Jammu & Kashmir, or whether they betoken a deeper shift in India's attitude to Pakistan's restive regions, remains to be seen.