Five Reforms Modi 3.0 May Go Slow On

Results for 2024 general elections are out. With 240 seats out of 543, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has failed to achieve a majority on its own. It will now have to rely on its coalition partners, some of whom are not always on the same page in forming a government.

The political compulsion might have an impact on the future of big-ticket reforms which are part of Narendra Modi government’s agendas.

Labour Codes

The complex labour law landscape in India has been consolidated into four labour codes namely — Code on Social Security 2020, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, Industrial Relations Code 2020 and Code on Wages 2019.

These codes are designed to improve the sentiment around ease of doing business and hence bring more investment. For workers, these codes provide a competitive environment while simultaneously securing a minimum wage along with other benefits.

The government has not yet notified them and with the coalition government, it may require more deliberations.

Farm Laws

The Modi government’s attempt to improve farmers’ income by gradually ending their reliance on middlemen and making markets directly accessible to farmers was scuttled by various interest groups.

In the last few months, demand for bringing those farm laws had increased. However, with new entrants in the government not willing to risk their politics for the benefit of farmers, a change in status quo looks like a distant dream.

Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

Article 44 of Indian Constitution nudges the government of the day to bring UCC. But due to Congress and later regional parties using minority protection principle for securing their vote banks, a systematic fear of hurting certain communities through UCC was fudged.

Expecting landslide victory in general elections, BJP did introduce UCC in Uttarakhand. Things didn't turn out as expected for the party in general elections.

By all indications, the Modi 3.0 will rely on N Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, both of whom are known to toe the secular line bordering on Muslim appeasement. UCC is too difficult to build a consensus on.

One Nation, One Election

A high-level committee under former president Ramnath Kovind had given certain prescriptions, including amendments to the Constitution.

Regional parties fear that holding state elections with central ones may result in ending their hold, which is why most of them, including Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are against it.

Land Reforms

One of the first failures of the Modi government was not being able to build consensus for liberalising land reforms in India in 2015. BJP had seemingly postponed it with plans to implement it when it gets full majority.

As coalition government is on the horizon, Modi government will have to depend on states to ensure that soaring Indian economy does not witness a decline.