Narendra Modi speech Independence Day 2016: Transparency seems to be the highlight, says processes simplified

Speaking from a wind swept Red Fort, Modi also spoke about Passport applications going up to around two crore a year now as Indian had started travelling more.

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Modi said over 9,000 jobs have been identified were efforts were on to eliminate touts and middlemen and make the recruitment process much simpler. (Source: Express photo by Renuka Puri)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech on India’s 70th Independence Day had a strong message about how his government was promoting transparency in governance. The Prime Minister highlighted a lot of measures the BJP government had taken over the past couple of years to make life simpler for the citizens.

Modi started with the example of railway tickets on IRCTC.com, which earlier used to be able to process only 2,000 tickets a minute. “Now we can give out 15,000 tickets a minute,” the PM said, about how processes have been simplified.

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Giving another example, he spoke about the Income Tax department, which he said the middle class feared more than the police. As former IRS officer and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal looked on, Modi said refunds were now being processed within a couple of weeks and payments being made online. “Earlier these used to take months.”

Speaking from a wind swept Red Fort, Modi also spoke about Passport applications going up to around two crore a year now as Indian had started travelling more. The PM said this process, which used to take up to six months earlier if the applicant was lucky to get a recommendation, was now wrapped up within a week in some cases.

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Modi said over 9,000 jobs have been identified were efforts were on to eliminate touts and middlemen and make the recruitment process much simpler.

Nandagopal Rajan

Nandagopal Rajan writes on technology, gadgets and everything related. He has worked with the India Today Group and Hindustan Times. He is an alumnus of Calicut University and Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal. ... Read More

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