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Year of change to year of performance

Biggest ever verdict in 30 years in favour of single party was the highlight of the year gone by

The year 2014 came, delivered its promised change and faded out, making way for 2015, the year of performance. A sweeping change came about in government, but the results of a new way of governance are yet to trickle down to the ground although seven months have passed since May 26, 2014. The intent in Prime Minister Modi, who clearly qualified to be the “Indian of 2014”, is phenomenal, and it is delivery on the high-minded pronouncements that the nation awaits the most as the New Year ticks on.

The ordinance route to reforms to ensure major projects get past the patented Indian brand of obstructionism has its critics, but it does reveal the intention of the government to drive growth, which alone can guarantee job generation and reduce social tensions.

Geopolitical projections point to lower oil prices for a few years. There is no better opportunity for India to make capital and drive its infrastructure and manufacturing growth to match its lively services and IT sectors.

The signs are propitious for progress in 2015 and it is time for the PM to be forthcoming and speak a lot more in Parliament to show he is the force behind a dispensation that is supposed to facilitate more than govern. Also, any reassurance that the phenomenon of loose cannons mouthing off the weirdest theories and scuttling social harmony has been left well behind would help keep the country on the path of progress.

How much longer will we as a nation allow religious issues to divide us? Politicians and fringe groups on either side of religious boundaries have a responsibility to help India grow. The biggest ever verdict in 30 years in favour of a single party was the highlight of the year gone by, which means alliance dharma will no longer be a valid excuse for acts of omission and commission.

The tapping of social media to enhance the power of appealing directly to the people made a great difference. However, the same media also works as a tool for home-grown terrorism, which might point to a rising threat this year. The other aspects of technology, as seen in the mass movement towards e-shopping, point to India globalising quickly, a trend certain to grow. And e-governance initiatives like Natgrid and a rejuvenated Aadhaar drive show the present government’s ability to rise above petty politics and absorb the better ideas.

Going to Mars on a shoestring budget with Mangalyaan, Modi’s meetings with world leaders and Mary Kom’s boxing triumph did most to improve India’s image abroad in 2014 while zero inflation at home engenders the hope that 2015 will be the year of the aam aadmi, who is hoping the promised good days reach him.

( Source : dc )
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