Modi reviews report card of his ministers, bats for people-centric approach

It was a mid-term review of sorts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who completed two years in office on May 26, presided over a meeting on Thursday where a ‘report card’ on the performance of every ministry was laid out.

The meeting came amid speculations over a reshuffle of the Union council of ministers ahead of Parliament’s monsoon session beginning July 18. The change, however, will not be massive, sources said.

In the meeting, Modi reviewed the progress of his ministries in implementing the decisions taken by the cabinet and the announcements made in Union budgets since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power in 2014.

The Prime Minister’s Office had asked every ministry to prepare a report on their “performance” and submit it to economic affairs secretary Shakitkanta Das.

Das prepared a consolidated report on the basis of the inputs and made a presentation before Modi and his ministers. Secretaries of different departments were also present in the meeting, which lasted for about five hours and saw a 113-page presentation.

Pointing out that some ministries need to step up, the PM asked his colleagues to think differently and make sure that the benefits of various schemes reach the common man.

Modi told the gathering that a lot of announcements were made in poll manifestos and budgets, and every ministry should strive to achieve individual targets, sources said.

“It is a stock-taking exercise to see how many decisions taken by the cabinet has actually been implemented by the respective ministries. There is a growing perception of a gap between delivery of services and what was promised by the NDA government,” said a government official.

Modi had chaired similar meetings in January and May where detailed presentations were made before the council of ministers. The PM had given a pep talk to his cabinet colleagues and asked them to get over the “negative perception” that not much was happening in the government.

Modi had earlier decided that such meetings will be held on the last Wednesday of every month.