Prime Minister Modi's First Year In Office: A Report Card

One year ago today, Narendra Modi was sworn-in as India’s new prime minister. He and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept into power following their crushing electoral victory over the incumbent Congress Party-led government. Mr. Modi campaigned on a message of bringing wholesale change to the world’s largest democracy and improving the lives of its 1.3 billion citizens. The message resonated with the country’s immense electorate, which conferred upon him an unprecedented mandate to deliver on his promises. Raising expectations both at home and abroad, Mr. Modi confidently declared achhe din, or good days, were on the horizon.

Now, one year later, the question that arises is whether the prime minister’s assured rhetoric matches his record so far. What follows is a brief report card of Mr. Modi’s progress to date.

The Economy: B-

Reviving India’s fledgling economy constituted the central theme of Mr. Modi’s campaign to become prime minister. He pledged to take those steps required to jump start India’s anemic economic growth. These measures included implementing long overdue structural reforms necessary to attract foreign investment to the country.  Modi promised “red carpet, not red tape” for those seeking to conduct business in India, while vowing to improve the country’s abysmal ranking within the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” index.

The results are mixed at best. To be sure, the last twelve months have witnessed Prime Minister Modi preside over a general improvement of the Indian economy. Last year’s spiraling inflation rate has been cut in half, deficits have been slashed, interest rates are down and the country’s once volatile currency has stabilized. The reality, however, is that these positive developments likely have less to do with Prime Minister Modi’s election than with falling oil and gold prices worldwide. Even New Delhi’s revised estimate of India’s GDP growth of 7.5%—a figure surpassing China’s—is the result of changes made to the rate calculation methodology, and is therefore likely inflated.

Exports are down, the country’s stock markets are among the worst performing in Asia and the prime minister’s ambitious “Make in India” campaign has stalled.  More troubling still, two of his proposed signature reforms, focused on land acquisition and taxation, are languishing in Parliament.

Prime Minister Modi has fared much better in his efforts to attract foreign investment to India.  He moved swiftly to raise FDI caps across a host of different sectors, including defense, telecommunications, infrastructure, pensions and insurance. These caps were raised at varying levels, ranging from complete liberalization in some areas to only modest increases in others. The new prime minister expects the influx of billions of dollars of foreign capital to be a key driver of economic growth and a creator of new jobs.

The new premier’s government has also deregulated prices for diesel fuel, auctioned off coal and telecommunications licenses in an open and transparent way and opened up more than 125 million bank accounts for the country’s poorest citizens. Notably absent from the Modi government’s first year in office has been the kind of multi-billion dollar corruption scandal responsible for bringing down the previous government last year.

Overall, there is much to laud about Prime Minister Modi’s efforts so far. The Indian economy is in better shape than it was just twelve months ago. But much work remains to be done. The pace of reform has been slow and both Indians at home and investors abroad are hoping the new premier moves more quickly to take those steps necessary to unleash the full potential of the Indian economy.

Foreign Policy: A

Although Prime Minister Modi’s economic message was the key to his victory at the polls, his foreign policy record earns him his highest marks.  Many wondered whether foreign policy would even be a priority for the new premier given his almost exclusive focus on the economy during the campaign.

He quickly dispelled any doubts. In one short year, Prime Minister Modi has spent 52 days abroad visiting a staggering 18 countries, including the United States, China, Brazil, France, Fiji, South Korea and even Mongolia. He has been received enthusiastically in virtually every country he has visited as prime minister. This is an extraordinary turnaround from the near pariah status he suffered as a result of his purported role in failing to stem communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 during his time as chief minister of the state.

His exhaustive foreign travel has become one of the most prominent hallmarks of his first year in office. Prime Minister Modi’s assertive foreign policy has dramatically increased India’s profile on the world stage and has injected fresh momentum into Indian diplomacy. His two bilateral summits with President Obama within three months have resulted in a significantly stronger U.S.-India relationship, while his astute diplomacy with China has helped challenge old assumptions surrounding Indo-Sino ties.

Prime Minister Modi’s foreign policy is also consistent with his larger economic goals. Concrete deliverables have emerged out of almost every trip he has made overseas, most notably billions of dollars of FDI from countries like Germany and Japan. He is acutely aware of the economic benefits India can garner at home by establishing more robust relationships abroad.

At the same time, however, Prime Minister Modi’s extensive travel abroad has left him vulnerable to criticism in some quarters. His opponents allege that the new prime minister’s aggressive foreign policy has come at the expense of more pressing domestic concerns. Such accusations, however, are unlikely to garner much traction in the long term given their overtly political motivations and the broad support his diplomacy enjoys at home.

The success of Prime Minister Modi’s foreign policy is unexpected. It, however, represents the unequivocal bright spot of his record so far.

Civil Liberties and Social Rights: D

Prime Minister Modi’s record on civil liberties and social issues during his first year in office has been far less encouraging. Over the past twelve months, New Delhi has tightened restrictions on the funding of international NGOs, banned the broadcasting of a BBC documentary chronicling the infamous 2012 rape of a New Delhi woman and even forcibly prevented a Greenpeace activist from traveling to London to speak with British lawmakers about India’s coal industry.

The moves appear to bolster critics’ concerns surrounding Prime Minister Modi’s perceived authoritarian style of governance.  Many also worry that right-wing extremists feel emboldened to encroach on the rights of India’s minority communities through hate speech or even outright violence since he assumed office last year. Although the new prime minister has forcefully and unequivocally condemned intolerance against minorities in any form, his critics believe he needs to do much more to safeguard these rights and uphold India’s sacrosanct secular identity.

Prime Minister Modi has a long way to go in this arena. His vision ofachhe din for India will remain unfulfilled so long as progress in protecting civil liberties and advancing social rights continues to falter.