The inside story of Modi's model of governance in Gujarat

Mail Today Bureau   |   Mail Today  |   New Delhi, April 18, 2014 | UPDATED 13:59 IST 

(L-R) Sunil Alagh, Surjit Bhalla, Uday Mahurkar, Aroon Purie and Bibek Debroy at the book launch.

While claims and counter claims over the accuracy of Gujarat's developmental model have been doing rounds, especially this poll season, a new book takes a look at the path-breaking initiatives taken by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to understand and reveal the ground reality of what his model of governance really is.

The book titled 'Centrestage: Inside the Narendra Modi Model of Governance' was released on Thursday. Written by Uday Mahurkar, senior editor with India Today, the book has also charted the process of how Modi turned many a loss-making state enterprises into profit-making entities.

"Modi's ability to generate a sense of pride among people on the basis of past achievements of the society and his will power to implement initiatives are his strong points that make him a popular leader among people of all sections," said Mahurkar, who has been following Modi since 1986.

Releasing the book, Aroon Purie, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of India Today Group, said the book will provide a ground reality of how Modi's model has worked.

"The timing of this book is perfect, even better than Sanjay Baru's book. Everyone is talking about the Gujarat model of development. One can be confused with the various statistics on Gujarat and its comparison with other states. But this book provides a ground level view of how governance has been changed by Modi," said Purie.

Purie said the book describes how Modi's style of governance, which has done away with the dole system, and his aggressive use of technology in governance have resulted in people getting quality services. "Modi's belief is that if you provide quality services then people will buy it," he added.

The book has chapters dealing with topics like energy, technology, agriculture, finance, and innovation. "I have backed all the chapters with facts and figures to give a clear picture of how Modi's model of governance has fared in various departments," said Mahurkar, who has covered Gujarat extensively.
The panel comprising Bibek Debroy, professor at Centre for Policy Research, Sunil Alagh, business executive, and economist Surjit Bhalla said Modi's biggest strength is his style of governance which brings efficiency and transparency. "Modi has turned around the agriculture sector in Gujarat. It has shown a consistent growth of 7 per cent in the last 10 years," said Bhalla.

The event was moderated by MAIL TODAY editor Sandeep Bamzai.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/the-inside-story-of-narendra-modis-gujarat-model/1/356380.html

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