Watch: Vinay Sahasrabuddhe Talks Innovation In Governance Under Prime Minister Modi

Governance and innovation aren’t words that you’d put together in a sentence describing India’s political infrastructure over the years. However, ever since he became the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi has made an effort to break the shackles and make the government machinery more efficient and focused on delivery.

Watching this development unfold from close quarters, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe found the inspiration for his latest book, Innovation Republic: Governance Innovations in India Under Narendra Modi.

In an interview with Swarajya, Sahasrabuddhe told us that what has changed in the governance infrastructure from the pre-2014 years is that there is now a captain at the helm who is willing to hold people accountable. Thus far, says the Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, there was an implicit understanding between people in politics not to ask questions so as to be let off the hook from giving answers.

In Innovation Republic, Sahasrabuddhe tells the stories of seventeen instances of innovation, from Pragati to MyGov to NITI Aayog and Government’s e-Market Platform, all of which have been designed to bring greater transparency and accountability to the governance framework. “For the first time perhaps, a documentation of governance-related innovations has taken place,” says Sahasrabuddhe.

During the 19-minute conversation with Swarajya, Sahasrabuddhe said that the idea that people always get lured by populism is wrong. “People get attracted to populism – that is true – but because they don’t have an alternative. Now Prime Minister Modi has provided that [alternative].”

Sahasrabuddhe believes this is the most significant contribution of the Narendra Modi government.

Watch the entire Swarajya interview with Vinay Sahasrabuddhe here: