The General Elections of 2014 saw a resounding victory for the BJP. Projecting Narendra Modi as a decisive leader, the BJP promised sweeping changes from the Congress-led UPA governments. Its election campaign was built on the planks of sabka vikas (development for all) and freedom from corruption, along with improved governance. So, did the NDA-II government deliver on its promise of development? Or, as Amartya Sen asserted, did India take a ‘quantum leap in the wrong direction’?
A Quantum Leap in the Wrong Direction? compares the promises made during the run-up to the 2014 elections and the outcomes over the past five years. Each chapter of this book assesses different policies like demonetisation and GST; policies in the sectors of employment, agriculture, banking, and foreign affairs; its initiatives in the areas of health, education, environment, on gender, and for the marginalised sections. It assesses the government’s successes in the area of governance and in addressing corruption.
Moving away from partisan debates that resort to propaganda and provide no answers, the authors rely on an assessment of available official data and other reputable information, and thereby let the facts speak for themselves. This book asks whether, in the past five years, Indian economy and polity has progressed, stagnated, or regressed.
Rohit Azad teaches Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Shouvik Chakraborty is Assistant Research Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Srinivasan Ramani is Associate Editor at The Hindu.
Dipa Sinha teaches at School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi.
List of Tables and Figures List of Abbreviations Foreword Jayati Ghosh
Acknowledgements
Introduction Rohit Azad, Srinivasan Ramani, Shouvik Chakraborty, and Dipa Sinha
PART I: THE ECONOMY
1. Modi Sarkar: The Truth about Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas Rohit Azad
2. Breaking Bad: India’s Banking Distress Prasenjit Bose and Zico Dasgupta
3. The NDA-II Regime and the Worsening Agrarian Crisis Arindam Banerjee and Ishan Anand
4. Employment Under the NDA-II Regime: A Reality Check Subhanil Chowdhury
PART II: SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS
5. School Education: Denials and Delusions Kiran Bhatty
6. The Price of Freedom: The NDA-II Government’s Report Card on Higher Education Ayesha Kidwai
7. Painting a Picture of Ill-health Indranil Mukhopadhyay and Dipa Sinha
8. Big-Bang Programmes for Women’s Welfare: An Evaluation Sona Mitra
9. Samajik Nyay and Samajik Samrasata? Amit Thorat
10. Environmental Policies Delinked from Aam Aadmi: Is the Mask of Environmentalism Falling? Shouvik Chakraborty
PART III: GOVERNANCE
11. Suit-Boot ki Sarkar and its ‘Battle’ against Corruption Roshan Kishore
12. Aadhaa(r) Adhura Welfare: A Critical Assessment Anmol Somanchi
13. The NDA-II Government’s Foreign and Security Policy: A Critical Assessment Happymon Jacob
14. Damaging the Public Sphere: A Toxic Legacy of the NDA-II Regime Srinivasan Ramani
Notes on the Contributors