Prime minister Narendra Modi has completed the first year of his third term, becoming the third longest serving PM after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

In a Governance Now Podcast 'Do Tuk', Tuhin Sinha, national spokesperson of Bharatiya Janta Party, speaks to Geetanjali Minhas on key achievements of the Modi government over these 11 years and what to expect in the remaining part of his third term.  

You can see the podcast here: https://youtu.be/jwJNtZCA2VA

Sinha said the country has seen decisive and visionary governance under Modi in the 11 years and 25 crore people have been uplifted from poverty. There have been 4.5 crore jobs generated too. He outlined a series of major infrastructure developments and said that since 2014 there has been 60% increase in length of national highways, Metro lines have increased from 250 kms  to 1000 kms and the number of airports have increased from 74 to 160.
 
PSUs like banks and those in power sector have been reenergised and there is focus on space economy. Rs 5 lakh crore capex has been invested in the North-East for seamless connectivity. Far-flung border areas have been developed which has resulted in a decrease of Chinese incursions. In the last 11 border infrastructure has seen maximum upliftment.

He spoke on the ongoing development work in Lakshadweep islands and plans for port-led development in Great Nicobar islands.   

The United Nations declared June 21 as the International Yoga Day and going further there has been a cultural and spiritual reawakening and resurgence in the country under PM Modi. 

From the 11th largest economy, India is now the world’s fourth largest economy and major contribution is coming from not just tier 1 and tier 2 cities but from tier 3 cities and rural areas. India is poised to become the third largest economy in two to three years. Thirty countries have shown interest in the adoption of India’s UPI payment systems. The PM has a long-term vision for India. For Viksit Bharat by 2047, it is on course to become $30 trillion economy. 

He further said that terrorism has been eliminated. When 100 districts faced terror acts in 2014 today that number is reduced to less than 10 districts including in the North-East except for ethic conflict in Manipur. He added that the abrogation of Article 370 and bringing in CAA and digital economy are other major achievements of the Modi government and the world is taking note of India’s resurgence as an economic power which has been reinforced by Operation Sindoor. “India’s multilateralism is its forte on foreign its policy.”  

On the government’s upcoming Census that includes caste count too, Sinha said it will be transparent and not an exercise to divide the people. He however added, “Caste census is purely an academic survey for us through which we will recalibrate resource allocation.” Asked about its effects on jobs reservation, Sinha said he is not sure if it will lead to reservation of jobs. 

While the government is on course to achieve its target of Viksit Bharat by 2047, Sinha also underlined that the country could face challenges from global “deep state” and “.5 enemy front” (unnamed internal enemies) from within the country. “These are the challenges the country could potentially face and needs to be vigilant about. The PM is cognisant of these challenges and working to thwart them,” he said, adding that today Bangladesh is also posing a challenge. 

On one nation-one poll (ONOE), he said for Viksit Bharat and to address the emerging challenges, the country needs to be prepared. But if there is an election every six months which is diverting attention of government machinery, it will impact smooth function of the government. “To save costs, the PM proposed ONOE which will also optimise administrative and governance mechanisms.”