Article 370 to triple talaq & new criminal code: Top 10 policy actions of Modi govt since 2014

Aug. 14, 2024, 11:29 a.m.

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Since assuming office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has enacted a series of legislative and executive measures that have defined his tenure.

While some of these actions are in line with the foundational principles of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the others are in line with the policy framework that he has adopted.

Key legislative actions include the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the abolition of triple talaq, the revocation of Article 370, and the enactment of new criminal laws. Among executive actions, notable decisions include demonetization, the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the Indian Army, the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, the Ayushman Bharat initiative, and others.

Advertisement Here, we examine the 10 most significant policy decisions made by the Modi government since 2014.

1. Demonetisation

In 2016, Modi addressed the nation, announcing that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes would no longer be legal tender. He further stated that new notes of denominations 500 and 2,000 would be introduced.

Overnight, the vast majority of currency in circulation was rendered worthless. For weeks, people formed long lines at banks to exchange their old notes for the new ones.

The rationale behind the move was purportedly to curb the circulation of black money in a cash-reliant economy. Critics, however, argued that the move failed to curb corruption and instead imposed hardships on ordinary citizens and small businesses that relied heavily on cash for their daily transactions.

2. GST

In 2017, the parliament cleared the way for the implementation of the GST under the ‘one nation-one tax’ regime.

In a late-night ceremony held in the historic Central Hall of the Parliament Complex, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then-President Pranab Mukherjee initiated the implementation of the GST on the night of June 30-July 1. It was the most substantial tax reform since Independence, and the midnight setup mirrored the one during Independence on August 15, 1947.

The GST consolidated over a dozen taxes, such as sales tax, value added tax (VAT), and local taxes, into a single GST.

Advertisement The Opposition led by Congress boycotted the function and has since continued to criticise the GST. In the political rhetoric, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has dubbed the GST as ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ after the infamous villain Gabbar Singh from the film ‘Sholay’.

3. Triple talaq law

In 2019, Parliament passed a law to abolish the Muslim practice of ’triple talaq’.

Until the passage of the law, a Muslim husband could simply divorce his wife by verbally saying ’talaq’ thrice.

The bill was introduced in 2017 and was finally implemented in 2019 after the Supreme Court declared the practice unlawful in a landmark judgment in 2018.

The move was hailed as a major step towards women empowerment and bringing Muslim women within the folds of a broader marital rights framework. It was seen in sharp contrast to the ‘Shah Bano case’ of 1985 when the then-Congress government had overruled the landmark Supreme Court judgement granting Muslim women the right to alimony through the parliamentary route to appease the conservative section of the Muslim population.

Advertisement 4. Article 370 abrogation

In 2019, the Modi government abrogated Article 370 and went on to reorganise the state of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. The abrogation ended the special status that the J&K had had for seven decades: a separate constitution, separate flag, and a slew of nativist laws that barred the right of Indians from outside the state in J&K and also limited the rights of state’s women.

In 2019, the Modi administration initiated a new presidential order, leveraging the provisions of Article 370, to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Advertisement As the J&K’s Vidhan Sabha was in suspension at the time, the presidential order said the assembly’s rights will be with the governor, explained Kaushik Deka in India Today at the time.

“The governor is an appointee of the Central government, and therefore, Parliament now stands in for the state legislative assembly…After this Shah [Home Minister Amit Shah] moved a statutory resolution in the Rajya Sabha which recommended that the President issue a notification, using Clause 3 of Article 370, to declare that all clauses of Article 370 would cease to be operative and that all provisions of the Indian Constitution would apply to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This, in effect, rendered Article 370 null and void even if it had not been repealed,” noted Deka at the time.

Advertisement Article 370 was the first of the three core principles of the BJP to be realized. The remaining two being the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

In December 2023, the Supreme Court validated the abrogation of Article 370, effectively eliminating Jammu and Kashmir's special status and leading to its complete integration with the rest of India.

5. Ram Mandir Trust

In 2020, following the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babari Masjid case in favor of Lord Ram, Modi declared the establishment of ‘Sri Ramjanambhoomi Tirath Kshetra’ for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The temple was officially inaugurated in January 2024.

Modi said that under the Ayodhya Act, in line with the SC’s verdict, the government had decided to transfer the 67.7 acres land acquired in Ayodhya to the trust for the development of the temple.

The construction of the Ram Mandir represented the realization of the second fundamental principle of the BJP.

6. New criminal code

In December 2023, the Modi government undertook a comprehensive revamp of India’s criminal laws by introducing three new bills to replace the existing British-era code.

The Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, by the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023. These three bills were passed in the same month and came into effect the following month.

These new laws, which have received both praise and criticism for their provisions, represent the most substantial overhaul of criminal law in India's history.

7. Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation

In 2019, the Indian Parliament passed the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, introducing a 10% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS).

This was a significant milestone in affirmative action policy, as previously, only social backwardness served as a criterion for reservation and quotas. By incorporating financial status as an additional criterion, the scope of affirmative action was expanded. This move generated controversy as reservation was traditionally associated with addressing social backwardness. Furthermore, the 10 per cent EWS quota pushed the overall reservation beyond the 50 per cent limit established by the Supreme Court.

The EWS reservation policy was challenged in the Supreme Court, where it was ultimately upheld in a verdict delivered in 2022.

8. Agnipath Military Recruitment Scheme: Continuing its reformist agenda, the Modi government introduced the Agnipath military recruitment scheme in 2022.

Under the scheme, soldiers designated as Agniveers will serve for a four-year period. Only 25% of them will be retained after completing the four-year tenure. This scheme also eliminates caste- and region-based recruitment in various regiments, adopting an all-India, all-class recruitment approach.

The program has faced widespread criticism for diminishing job security for soldiers, as 75% of recruits will be discharged after just four years.

9. Ayushman Bharat

In 2018, Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) and hailed it as the world’s largest government-funded healthcare programme. The main part of the initiative is the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

Under PM-JAY, each family is provided with health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakh per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalizations. According to government data, 12 crore families, encompassing approximately 40% of the Indian population, are covered by the insurance program.

10. Aatmanirbhar Bharat

In the midst of Covid-19 pandemic when India as well as the world was dealing with an economic downturn, the Modi government announced ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative to make India self-reliant in various areas. The initiative is part of the government’s efforts to boost manufacturing in India and curb reliance on imports that only make India dependent on foreign players but also affect the balance of trade.

Since the initiative’s announcement, the Modi government has also floated production-linked incentives (PLIs) for various industries. Under the PLIs, incentives such as subsidies and other regulatory relaxations are given if products covered by the scheme, such as electronics and pharmaceuticals, are produced in India. The scheme along with other steps over the years has meant that several companies now manufacture mobile phones in India and the reliance on imports in the domain of pharmaceuticals has also fallen.