New Delhi: On the 75th day of his second innings in office, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about successfully piloting the revocation of the contentious Article 370 and Article 35A in Jammu and Kashmir, compressing his report card to 75 days, with every government benchmarking itself over the first 100 days.
"We have set an unprecedented pace within the first few days of our government. What we have been able to achieve is the result of 'spasht neeti, sahi disha (clear policy, right intentions)'," he said, adding that a lot has happened in the first 75 days of Modi 2.0.
"From children's safety to Chandrayaan 2, from action against corruption to freeing Muslim women from the scourge of triple talaq, from Kashmir to 'kisan' (farmer), we have shown what a resolute government with a strong mandate of the people can achieve," he said. "We have taken a head-start in tackling the most pressing issue of our times with the formation of the Jal Shakti Ministry for an integrated approach to improve water supply and augment water conservation."
When asked if an even stronger mandate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections that brought the BJP back to power was helped by a catalogue of expeditious measures, Modi accepted he was conscious of the fact that those who voted for him needed to be given a snapshot of what is coming in the next five years.
"In a way, it is the result of the government coming back with a stronger mandate. What we were able to achieve in the first 75 days was the outcome of the robust base we were able to build in the last five years," he said. "Hundreds of reforms in the last five years have ensured the country is now ready to take off, powered by the aspirations of the people. The push has come not just from the executive but from the muscle in Parliament."
Modi said the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha has been a record-creating one — it was the most productive session since 1952.
"This is not a minor achievement. In my view, it is a historic turn for the better and one which will make our Parliament much more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people," he said.
Modi said several other momentous initiatives have taken place during his governance. These include pension schemes for farmers and traders, reform of the medical sector, important amendments in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, beginning of labour reforms, he said.
"But the gist of the matter is that when the intentions are right, there is clarity of purpose and implementation. When there is people's support, there is no limit to what we can do. There has been no time wasting, no mulling over things for too long, instead a calibrated plan to execute, implement and take bold decisions, none bigger than the one on Kashmir," he added.
The government has not been without its share of controversies -- for instance, medical reforms that have not gone down well with common folk and there has been noise on the medical reforms front from various quarters.
When asked if the changes brought in were well thought through, Modi said, "When we formed the government in 2014, there were many concerns about the existing system of medical education. Earlier, courts have used strong words for the institution overseeing medical education in India, calling it a 'den of corruption'. A parliamentary committee did rigorous study and took a very dull view of the state of affairs in medical education. It pointed out mismanagement, lack of transparency and arbitrariness. Earlier governments, too, had given a thought to reforming this sector but could not go through with it. We decided to go through with it because this is not a matter that can be taken lightly as it concerns the health of our people and future of our youth. So, we set up an expert group to look into what is plaguing it. The expert group studied the system carefully and brought out the problems and improvement areas. It is based on the suggestions from experts that we came to the current bill."
Modi said that the National Medical Commission is a far-reaching reform and seeks to correct the prevalent problems; it contains multiple reforms that curb avenues of corruption and boost transparency.
"At a time when nations are looking at India to power the next wave of growth in the world, we realise this can happen only with a healthy populace. Freeing the poor from the vicious cycle of poverty that lack of health perpetuates is very important. The NMC serves this purpose well too. It will ensure transparency, accountability and quality in the governance of medical education in the country. It aims to lessen the burden on students, increase the number of medical seats and reduce cost of medical education. This means more talented youth can take up medicine as a profession and this will help us increase the number of medical professionals," he said.
The Ayushman Bharat is bringing about a revolution in the healthcare sector, Modi said, adding that the scheme is increasing awareness as well as making quality healthcare affordable to all, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 towns.
"We are also working to ensure there is at least one medical college between every three districts," he said. "With rising awareness about healthcare, rising incomes and greater focus on aspirational goals among people, we will need thousands and thousands of doctors to fulfill the demand, especially in rural and urban areas. The NMC seeks to address these issues for a better outcome for all stakeholders."
Modi said the 2019-20 academic year will see the biggest addition of medical seats in government colleges in a single year, with the creation of around two dozen new government medical colleges. "Our road map is clear — a transparent, accessible and affordable medical education system leading to better healthcare outcomes," he said.
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