Prime Minister

Main article: Premiership of Narendra Modi

For a chronological guide to this subject, see Timeline of the premiership of Narendra Modi.

Modi with the Chief Minister of Nagaland, T. R. Zeliang, and Naga people in Northeast India, December 2014

Governance and other initiatives

Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014. He became the first Prime
Minister born after India's independence from the British Empire.[186] His first year as prime minister
saw significant centralisation of power relative to previous administrations. [129][187] Modi's efforts at
centralisation have been linked to an increase in the number of senior administration officials
resigning their positions.[129] Initially lacking a majority in the Rajya Sabha, or upper house of Indian
Parliament, Modi passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further
centralisation of power.[188] The government also passed a bill increasing the control that it had over
the appointment of judges, and reducing that of the judiciary. [13]
In December 2014 Modi abolished the Planning Commission, replacing it with the National Institution
for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog.[189][190] The move had the effect of greatly centralising the power
previously with the planning commission in the person of the prime minister. [191][188][189][190][192] The
planning commission had received heavy criticism in previous years for creating inefficiency in the
government, and of not filling its role of improving social welfare: however, since the economic
liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related
to social justice.[190]
The Modi government launched investigations by the Intelligence Bureau against numerous civil
society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations in the first year of the
administration. The investigations, on the grounds that these organisations were slowing economic
growth, was criticised as a witchhunt. International humanitarian aid organisation Medecins Sans
Frontieres was among the groups that were put under pressure. [129] Other organisations affected
included the Sierra Club and Avaaz.[191] Cases of sedition were filed against individuals criticising the
government.[129] This led to discontent within the BJP regarding Modi's style of functioning and drew
comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi. [129][188]
Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; a total of 1,301 such laws
had been repealed by previous governments over a span of 64 years. [193][194][195] He started a monthly
radio programme titled "Mann Ki Baat" on 3 October 2014.[196] Modi also launched the Digital
India programme, with the goal of ensuring that government services are available electronically,
building infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boosting manufacturing
of electronic goods in the country, and promoting digital literacy.[197][198]
Modi launched Ujjwala scheme to provide free LPG connection to rural households. The scheme led
to an increase in LPG consumption by 56% in 2019 as compared to 2014. [199] In 2019, a law was
passed to provide 10% reservation to Economically weaker sections. [200]
He was again sworn in as Prime minister on 30 May 2019. On 30 July 2019, Parliament of
India declared the practice of Triple Talaq as illegal, unconstitutional and made it punishable act
from 1 August 2019 which is deemed to be in effect from 19 September 2018. [201][202][203] On 5 August
2019, the government moved resolution to scrap Article 370 in the Rajya Sabha, [204] and also
reorganize the state with Jammu and Kashmir serving as one of the union territory
and Ladakh region separated out as a separate union territory. [205] In 2019, Ayodhya dispute was
resolved. The Supreme Court ordered the land to be handed over to a trust to build the Hindu
temple. It also ordered the government to give alternate 5 acre land to Sunni Waqf Board for the
purpose of building a mosque.[206]