Narendra Modis 10-point plan for India

New Delhi: Restrictions on ministerial discretion, a 10-point blueprint for action, and emphasis on
accountability and transparency are likely to form the cornerstones of the Narendra Modi administrations
governance style.
In a cabinet meeting on Monday, Modi outlined the 10-point plan and pressed the rest of his cabinet
colleagues for a 100-day agenda that their respective ministries will pursue.
Earlier in the day, he removed the discretion ministers have in appointing personal staff, including so-called
officers on special duty (OSDs), who, in some instances in the past, have served as conduits for lobbyists or
companies looking for a quick-fix solution, and said these appointments would now have to be routed through
the appointments committee of the cabinet headed by the prime minister. Ministries have also been asked to
be more proactive in the digital medium.
On cue, several ministers announced their intention to put up all information about proposals and clearances
in the public domain, online.
New environment minister Prakash J avadekar said the ministry
would allow online submission of applications for environmental
clearances, making it easier for companies to seek approvals.
This will ensure that there are timelines, transparency in (the)
application process, and real time monitoring of stage-wise
clearance, J avadekar said.
The ministry will do the same with respect to forest clearances
next month, he added.
During the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the
environment ministry was criticized for delaying approvals and
failing to adhere to timelines.
An applicant or project proponent will now be able to monitor the
stage-wise process of their application. The ministry will work
with states to ensure that even state-level clearance processes
are completed on time, said J avadekar, adding that his ministry
would attempt to reduce the time taken to grant an
environmental clearance to a maximum of 60 days.
Similarly, the new minister for road transport and shipping, Nitin Gadkari, said he would focus on transparent
and rapid decision making and implement a time-bound approach for project completion in the transport
ministry. We will focus on e-governance, calling for bids online to bring in transparency. The officials will be
accountable for meeting deadlines, Gadkari told reporters.
Gadkari also said that he was not in favour of a roads regulator, an idea conceived by the UPA government to
address challenges such as financial stress, construction risk and contract management issues.
In the cabinet meeting, Modi outlined the governments agenda.
The prime minister has said the focus should be on efficient governance, delivery and implementation of
programmes. He has also instructed the ministers to give priority to the issues brought forth by the state
governments as also Members of Parliament, parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu told reporters
after the meeting.
The Bharatiya J anata Party won 282 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha in the April-May general election,
riding on widespread resentment against the UPA for its failure to contain inflation and tackle corruption in
public office. It is the dominant constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, which has 336 representatives
in the Lok Sabha.