New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to embark on a nationwide outreach programme, armed with a ‘report card’ that among others, claims that the Modi government created 15 million new jobs every year.
The Modi government has faced tremendous flak on the jobs front, particularly after a leaked National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) job survey pegged the unemployment rate at a four-decade high.
The ‘report card’, however, quotes “robust and reliable databases such as those with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), General Provident Fund (GPF) and the National Pension Scheme” to claim 15 million new jobs were created every year under the Modi government.
“This doesn’t even count initiatives such as PM Mudra Yojana, Startup India and the support and outreach for MSMEs. Around 14.62 million jobs have been created in the tourism sector alone in the last four years,” said Sumit Bhasin, director Public Policy Research Centre, the BJP think-tank behind the ‘report card’.
The ‘report card’ also states that 17,024 startups have been recognised as of 19 March 2019 and that Rs 17.09 crore of Mudra loans have been sanctioned as of 19 March 2019.
Also read: Narendra Modi and jobs: It’s all about data, and how it’s calculated
‘Highlights Modi government’s achievements’
The party has prepared the ‘report card’, highlighting the “policy measures and people-centric” welfare measures” that the NDA government has taken to fulfil the promises it made in its 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto.
The thrust of the ‘report card’ is that the Modi government has been proactive in taking decisions, such as “granting 1,100 cabinet approvals” for projects, as opposed to the “policy paralysis” under the previous Manmohan Singh-led UPA government.
Sources said that the BJP has claimed to have fulfilled about 98 per cent of its 2014 poll promises, unable to only implement sticky issues such as the removal of Article 370 and Article 35A from Jammu and Kashmir and ensuring police reforms.
In all, there are 530 points from 2014 manifesto that the party claims to have been successfully implemented over Modi’s five-year tenure.
Sources in the party said that the report card has been prepared on the directive of the BJP brass and will now be handed over to all senior ministers, MPs and party leaders for use in their rallies and other outreach programmes.
‘Have clamped down on corruption’
The BJP has also claimed that it has curbed corruption through policy decisions such as the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mechanism, through which it claims that Rs 6.46 lakh crore has been transferred to beneficiaries as of 19 March 2019.
The report card says that 439 central government schemes use the DBT mechanism for welfare schemes. It adds that schemes such as PRAGATI have been institutionalised for proper coordination between various government departments.
On the promise of opening the government to expertise from the industry and academia, the report card highlights the Modi government’s initiative to invite application for 10 joint secretary posts.
Apart from the ‘report card’, sources said the BJP will also highlight several welfare measures initiated by its government such as the Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for LPG connections, subsidy intervention for housing loans among others.
Also read: Rahul Gandhi slams PM Modi for his ‘criminal failure’ in jobs sector
Whether the true figure is fifteen million or minus five million is a matter, at one level, for professional economists – not chartered accountants – to debate. However, this is one facet of the Report Card that each young Indian has personal knowledge of. Flying it past the electorate will be the incumbent’s largest challenge in this election.
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