Govt has the will to push big reforms, says Modi

PM urges bureaucrats to change work style, enable tough measures

NEWDELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday his government does not lack political will to push economic reforms, signalling the possibility of a fresh round of business-friendly measures after a string of emboldening election victories.

The government has cleared several reforms legislation over the past two years. It scrapped about 1,200 outdated laws, pushed through a Goods and Services Tax, wrote a new bankruptcy code, sold shares in state-run firms and opened up the market to more foreign investment.

But Modi has largely stayed away from politically difficult decisions such as overhauling laws governing land acquisition and labour. Analysts say his party’s victories in four of five state polls last month should give the government confidence to reform these sectors.

“Political will is required for reforms. I don’t have any problem with that. Perhaps we have extra political will,” Modi told a gathering of bureaucrats at the Civil Services Day celebrations.

He said while political will was important, the government could perform only through an efficient bureaucracy.

Although armed with a fresh

mandate as a champion of the cosmo-urban middleclass and the poor, Modi still faces a challenge in implementing reforms, especially because the BJP lacks a majority in the Rajya Sabha.

Investors expect the government to allow banks to raise money from the market and set a ‘bad bank’ to tackle their problem of non-performing assets (NPA) and overhaul wages and industrial relations laws.

“Reforms in the areas of land, labour, corporate bond market and NPA resolution will revive investor sentiment and encourage private investment,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA, a unit of ratings agency Moody’s.