NEW DELHI: After a careful review of the overall situation as it has developed over the years, and determined to make Modi 3.0 an outstanding success in terms of delivering prosperity to the people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is understood to be in War Mode in his ongoing battle against corrupt elements within the administrative structure.
The War on Corruption is focused on “stopping, rolling back and finally eliminating” such corruption. Methodical and careful, the Prime Minister is learnt to be opposed to such a war turning into a witch-hunt. It is a fact that several officials have in the past served the UPA government, including in ministries known to be less than scrupulous about observing ethical and even legal norms.
However, it is the sworn duty of officials in the various services to provide advice and assistance to their political superiors in the order of precedence, and such adherence to the norms of duty expected of them in their particular service ought not to be used as a catchall painting of all or even most of such officials as unreliable in matters of integrity.
Across the decades, mini East India Companies have silently operated inside the country, fed by a plentiful flow of funds, to make into national turncoats a handful of elements embedded in the administrative structure to block or at least substantially slow down the country’s march towards being the third superpower after the US and China before 2034. Rare earths are known by geologists of integrity to be abundant in some parts of the country, yet progress towards self-sufficiency has been held back. Similar is the case with hydrocarbons or the development of indigenous capability in defence manufacturers.
India has the potential to be not what it has become over the years, a huge market for foreign goods, including through so-called “Indian” companies being merely assembly factories to assemble foreign components. To take an example, Indian pharma has the potential to grow exports several times over than present, especially during 2025 and 2026, when a large number of international brands lose their patent protection. External pharma giants need to be prevented from misusing the Indian patent system through corrupt elements by “evergreening” their products by making inconsequential changes in them. Such misuse of patent laws need to be prevented, and the focus of PM Modi is on achieving such an objective.
Whether they be high or middle rung or low, war has been declared on corrupt elements in the administrative system so that they may no longer wreak havoc on needy citizens in India or abroad by unfair, often criminal, practices. At the same time, the misuse of law to instil fear in the minds of investors domestic and is being examined and halted, so that instead of billionaires leaving India, billionaires from outside come to India and join in the making of a prosperous country. While efforts are on to locate rare earths such as lithium in India, PM Modi is assiduously working on getting access to foreign sources that are not security risks but security partners of India. His just concluded global tour is the most recent example of such efforts.
Countries such as Cuba, Malaysia, Uruguay and Bolivia are being given increased attention, in order to ensure shared prosperity within diverse corners of the Global South. In the digital world, Japan holds the world record for having achieved the highest internet speed of 1.02 petabits per second, enough to “download the whole of Netflix in one second”, and the effort is ongoing to ensure that well before 2029, the world record in internet speeds will be held by India. The ambition of PM Modi is to bring the benefits of highspeed internet to the poorest citizen and to the remotest village, so as to become a powerful engine of individual empowerment and overall growth of the country.
India has been characterised as a country with high potential overshadowed by a consistent record of under-achievement. Such a dismal state of affairs had been the case for long, and faster change is on the way. Corrupt officials combine with corrupt businesspersons and grow the economies of other countries, sometimes even bitter security rivals, at the expense of their own. Not that such a lack of loyalty has bothered them, when the price of acquiring a foreign passport is in some cases only a little over Rs 90 lakhs, peanuts for the very corrupt. One by one, such individuals are being tracked to their foreign getaways and brought back to justice as a consequence of the rising stature of India on the international stage.
The same is the case with terror perpetrators. “You can run but you cannot hide from the reach of our hands”, is the vow being fulfilled case by case, individual by individual from across the world. GHQ Rawalpindi and its principal backer, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, have been put on notice that the next terror attack will be followed by retaliation designed to end the ability of the Pakistan army to use terrorists as their principal mode of attack against India. Anyone from a metropolis travelling by car across country roads in India would be surprised at the change taking place. Smartphones are being used almost everywhere to understand market prices and locate opportunities for selfempowerment. Gone are the days when the government was looked upon for meeting needs.
While such is indeed provided, the young in particular search for and locate opportunities for self-improvement. Women as well as young girls no longer accept that they are anything other than the equal, if not the better, of males. Coming as he himself does from the ranks of the underprivileged, PM Modi knows the capacity of the citizens of India, no matter how low her or his economic class is. From 2014, he has retained focus on empowerment of the poorest, including through modern technology.
In the smallest of villages, the journey of astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station has become an inspiration to the young, propelling them forward in their journey towards empowerment. More and more corrupt officials are being live streamed across the country, forcing them to change such behaviour or face obloquy. Bharat i.e. India is changing, and more and more of such change is taking place not as a consequence of not just governmental but individual decisions and actions as well.
Across the entire nation, the protective umbrella provided by the government inspired by the example set by the leadership of the country. The nation is on course to witness an intensification of the drive towards excellence and ending corruption. Fasten seat belts and be assured that the pilot will ensure a safe landing into an India that has by then become far more developed and empowered than the country has ever been.
