Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Did prime minister Modi fulfil his economic promises?

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi swept to power five years ago on a business-friendly manifesto that promised to shake up Asia's third-largest economy and boost employment.

As Modi, 68, seeks a second term in India's almost six-week mega-election beginning on Thursday, we looks at how he has delivered on his main economic pledges.


- Jobs, jobs, and more jobs -

Young people voted for Modi in droves in 2014 after he said he would create 10 million jobs a year.

Many, however, have been left disappointed -- and jobless.

A newspaper recently published what it called an official report buried by Modi's government showing unemployment at its highest since the 1970s.

Last year a staggering 19 million people applied for 63,000 positions at Indian Railways.

The opposition has used unemployment as one of its main lines of attack in the campaign, with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi attacking Modi for creating a "national disaster".

Analysts say that the economy has failed to expand at the rate required to employ the one million Indians who enter the workforce every month.

- Corruption crackdown -

In 2014, Modi projected himself as an anti-corruption crusader who would eradicate graft and so-called "black money".

While Modi has been widely credited with ending a culture of crony capitalism throughout government his overall record on corruption is mixed.

He has been lauded for toughening anti-corruption laws, including one outlawing "benami" property, where owners purchase real estate through third parties to hide money.

India has risen three places to 78th in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index under his watch, five places behind South Africa but nine ahead of China.

However, Modi's first term will perhaps most be remembered for a shock cash ban that rendered 86 percent of the high-currency bank notes void overnight and hit growth.

Modi said "demonetisation" would root out illegal money but almost all notes returned to the banking system, while the move caused untold suffering to millions of poor who operate outside of India's formal economy.

- 'Make in India?' -

Modi promised to boost foreign investment by making it easier for companies abroad to do business in India.

To a large extent he has succeeded. The government has relaxed stringent foreign direct investment rules in many sectors including in infrastructure, aviation and single-brand retail.

Foreign capital inflows into India have increased as a result. FDI in India rose to nearly $62 billion for 2017-18 and the government hopes it can register $100 billion annually within two years.

One of the most high-profile investments was US retail giant Walmart's purchase of a 77-percent stake in Indian e-commerce behemoth Flipkart last year for $16 billion.

Investors have expressed concern about recent protectionist measures in e-commerce though. The government announced surprise restrictions in December that would limit how companies like Amazon and Walmart could operate.

Analysts are in general agreement that Modi's much-trumpeted "Make in India" initiative failed to turn the Asian giant into a manufacturing hub, despite an advertising blitzkrieg.

- Taxing -

Modi delivered on one promise that previous governments had said they would achieve but never did -- pushing through a single national goods and services tax (GST) designed to make conducting business in India easier.

The tax, which came into effect on 1 July 2017, was designed to replace more than a dozen state and national levies and transform India's $2 trillion economy into a single market for the first time.

First proposed in 2006, it got the backing of most economists as being long overdue and was hailed as the biggest tax reform since independence.

It has been credited with helping India soar up the World Bank's "ease of doing business ranking", with the institution saying India had jumped 23 places to 77th position between 2017 and 2018.

The government has been forced to announce several changes to the GST however, after small-scale businesses complained they were being unfairly hit by high tax rates.

- Bad debt -

Indian banks are saddled with some of the highest levels of bad debt anywhere in the world and Modi made tackling them a key priority.

The government has given the central bank greater powers to intervene in cases of bad loans and in 2017 approved a $32 billion recapitalisation plan to help state-owned banks clean up their books.

Analysts say progress is being made but the difficulty of recovering dues from alleged offenders, such as fugitives Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, show that there is still a long way to go.

In 2016 Modi's government overhauled archaic bankruptcy laws by passing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code which sought to make it easier to wind down companies and help banks recover soured loans.

The law set a 180-day deadline to resolve bankruptcy cases, which previously took over four years on average. However, the Supreme Court issued a verdict this week which could again delay some insolvency proceedings.

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Investigators focus on engine fuel controls as Air India crash report nears release

Highlights:

 
     
  • Investigators are focusing on fuel control switches in the Air India crash.
  •  
  • The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad.
  •  
  • A preliminary report is expected by Friday, around 30 days after the crash.

A PRELIMINARY report into the Air India crash that killed 241 people in June is expected by Friday, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less