Swachh Bharat, Digital India score poorly, top rating for Railways

Swachh Bharat, Digital India score poorly, top rating for Railways

The National Democratic Alliance government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kicked off a two-part survey where the people will rate its policies and initiatives as it completes two years in office. Thousands have already joined in to answer the 30 questions covering anything from foreign policy to signature schemes such as Swachh Bharat, Digital India and Make In India, hosted on the citizen engagement platform mygov,in.

While Make in India, ease of doing business and controlling corruption figure somewhere in the middle of the ratings, other schemes such as Swachh Bharat, Digital India and unearthing black money have scored the least.

Initial data captured on the portal will make Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu happy. More than 74 per cent of the people who have participated in the survey so far have given 5 stars to the government effort in modernising Indian Railways, taking it to the top position out of a total of 15 schemes. Only 1.04 per cent of the people have given it 1 star. Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari is next with 65.8 per cent people giving 5 stars to government efforts in providing highway connectivity. It is the only sector where nobody has given it the lowest grade of 1.

The NDA's foreign policy has scored high as well with 63.21 per cent giving the initiative 5 stars. It got 1 star from 3.63 per cent of the respondents. The PM himself has mostly been at the forefront of the foreign policy initiatives, though Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj is also seen having contributed to the overall effort.Click here to read the full article.

CEO Poll: Modi govt meets expectations of India Inc on reforms

CEO Poll: Modi govt meets expectations of India Inc on reforms

With the Narendra Modi government completing two years in office, an overwhelming majority of the 50 chief executive officers (CEOs) surveyed by this newspaper said the government has met their expectations on economic reforms. The average rating was seven out of 10.

In a nationwide survey conducted by this newspaper over the past three weeks, CEOs said a number of steps taken by the government - bringing down the corporate tax rate, clearing the retrospective tax mess and a new bankruptcy law - have made it easier to do business in India. They also appreciated initiatives like Digital India and the Swachh Bharat campaign. When asked about the positives of the government, CEOs cited better foreign relations, taming inflation and bringing down corruption in governance as top achievements.

ALSO READ: Narendra Modi: Governance and that Hindutva image

"I think there are perceptible signs of improvement in the ease of doing business. We have also seen some important policy changes, like the Bankruptcy Code Bill, the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy and the Startup India policy, which are reflective of this government's intent to enable economic growth. What we need now is a bigger push in the investment policy in manufacturing to make it viable for Make in India to succeed," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon.

ALSO READ: Report Card: Two years of Modi Government

Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Steel, said, "During my travels abroad, I clearly see that government's diplomacy has led to a rise in India's stature at the global stage."

Among the negatives, CEOs cited the inability to build consensus on the goods and services tax, inability to tackle the black money issue, and inability to handle the Opposition. Chairman of Videocon Industries, Venugopal Dhoot said the stability of the rupee and increased spending in infrastructure are indicators of good governance. "India is the only country in the world growing at 7.5 per cent according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This shows our economy is on the right track," said Dhoot. Read more.

Poll results may trigger knee-jerk reaction

Markets are gearing up for the outcome of Assembly elections in five states – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry – scheduled for May 19. Though an unfavourable outcome for the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could trigger a knee-jerk reaction in the markets, analysts rule out a significant correction from the current levels.

LIVE BLOG: In 2 days, you will know the people's verdict: Jayalalithaa

Factors like the progress of monsoon, corporate earnings, inflation trajectory and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s stance on policy rates will be key in determining market direction over the next few weeks, they say.

Also Read: Kerala assembly elections: Will BJP make inroads this time?

“The markets could see a negative knee-jerk reaction and come under pressure in the short-run in case the NDA were to lose in Assam, the only state where it hopes to win. Even then, I do not expect the Nifty50 index to slip below 7,500 levels. The upside, too, seems to be capped around 7,900 levels. Besides the election, the ongoing results season and the progress of the monsoon over the next few weeks will have a bearing on market direction,” says U R Bhat, managing director,Dalton Capital Advisors.

Also Read: Assam assembly polls: Will Himanta Biswa Sarma make BJP's luck in the state?

For Tirthankar Patnaik, India strategist at Japan-based Mizuho Bank, the progress of monsoons over the next few weeks is a bigger concern than State election outcomes. He, too, expects the Nifty50 to find support at 7,500 levels in case of unfavourable election outcome and sees the upside capped at 8,000.Read more.