नरेंद्र मोदी ब्राज़ील से क्या लाएँगे?
मंगलवार, 15 जुलाई, 2014
ब्राज़ील में हो रहा ब्रिक्स शिखर सम्मलेन प्रधानमंत्री के रूप में नरेंद्र मोदी का पहला महत्वपूर्ण अंतरराष्ट्रीय दौरा है.
यह ब्राज़ील, रूस, भारत, चीन और दक्षिण अफ़्रीक़ा का संयुक्त मंच है.
इस यात्रा में मोदी पहली बार इन देशों के प्रमुखों से मुलाक़ात करेंगे. अपने दो दिवसीय दौरे के पहले दिन ही उनकी दो महत्वपूर्ण बैठकें हैं.
इस सम्मेलन के दौरान पाँच ऐसे मुद्दे हैं जो भारत की दृष्टि से महत्वपूर्ण रहेंगे.
इस यात्रा से नरेंद्र मोदी को क्या हासिल हो सकता है? जानने के लिए पढ़िए ऑब्ज़र्वर रिसर्च फ़ाउंडेशन के उपाध्यक्ष समीर सरन का विश्लेषण.
रिश्ते बेहतर करने का मौक़ा
यूक्रेन के मुद्दे पर रूस और यूरोपीय संघ के बीच एक तनावपूर्ण स्थिति बनी हुई है. वहीं पूर्वी एशिया के दूसरे देशों के साथ चीन के रिश्ते तनावपूर्ण चल रहे है.
ऐसे में रूस, चीन और भारत के संबंध काफ़ी महत्वपूर्ण हो जाते हैं.
सम्मलेन के बहाने द्विपक्षीय संबंधों को सुधारने का भी मौक़ा मिलेगा, चाहे वो भारत चीन के रिश्ते हों या भारत और रूस के बीच.
ब्रिक्स वित्तीय संस्थान?
ब्रिक्स देशों के पास अब यह अच्छा मौक़ा है जब वो अपना एक अलग वित्तीय संस्थान और विकास का एक अलग मॉडल बना पाएं.
इस बार उम्मीद की जा रही है कि सम्मलेन के दौरान कंटिंजेंसी फ़ंड, ब्रिक्स विकास बैंक के गठन की औपचारिक घोषणा हो जाए.
जो देश इस तरह के कंटिंजेंसी फ़ंड का समर्थन कर रहे हैं वो वर्ल्ड बैंक और अंतरराष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष यानी आईएमएफ़ की मुख्य धारा में नहीं हैं.
आपसी व्यापार
व्यापार तीसरा बड़ा महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दा है क्योंकि अमरीका और यूरोपीय संघ के बीच खुले व्यापार का समझौता होने वाला है.
अगर यह समझौता हो जाता है तो वैश्विक सकल घरेलू उत्पाद यानी जीडीपी का 66 प्रतिशत आपस में सम्मिलित हो जाएगा.
इस समझौते का भारत, चीन, रूस और दक्षिण अफ़्रीक़ा पर असर पड़ेगा.
अमरीका और यूरोपीय संघ के बीच समझौता ब्रिक्स देशों के लिए एक बड़ी चुनौती है क्योंकि यह विश्व व्यापार संगठन की अहमियत को कम करने वाला है.
क्षेत्रीय सुरक्षा और स्थिरता
क्षेत्रीय सुरक्षा और स्थिरता एक महत्वपूर्ण मुद्दा है.
पश्चिमी एशिया में हालात काफ़ी चिंताजनक हैं. अफ़ग़ानिस्तान में राष्ट्रपति चुनाव को लेकर भी काफ़ी कड़वाहट है. अमरीकी फ़ौजें इस साल अफ़ग़ानिस्तान से वापस जा रही हैं.
भारत को अपने आर्थिक विकास के लिए इलाक़े में क्षेत्रीय स्थिरता और राजनीतिक शांति चाहिए.
भारत के लिए यह ज़रूरी होगा कि चीन और रूस इसमें उसका सहयोग करें.
पिछले पाँच सालों की समीक्षा
यह ब्रिक्स देशों की छठी बैठक है.
यह मौक़ा है जब भारत को पिछले पांच सालों में अपनी उपलब्धियों की समीक्षा करनी चाहिए, उसके बाद भविष्य की रणनीति तय होनी चाहिए.
लैटिन अमरीका के देशों से संबंध बढ़ाने का भी यह अच्छा मौक़ा है क्योंकि भविष्य में ऊर्जा और खाद्य सुरक्षा के लिए हमें इन्हीं देशों की तरफ़ देखना पड़ेगा.
(बीबीसी संवाददाता सलमान रावी से बातचीत पर आधारित)
Original link is here
India leading BRICS Bank bodes well for future says Samir Saran
BRICS Summit’s decision to establish a development bank gives a sense of achievement for India as well as fellow nations. India has invested the most in the Bank after much deliberation during the last years. Author and commentator Samir Saran says that with India having the bank’s stewardship, it is a welcome start to a financial institution such as the BRICS Bank. The Bank should not be seen as if it is in competition with other international financial institutions. Rather, it should be viewed as an additionality. BRICS Bank will cater to the scarcity gap, changing the ethos of financial institutions. The Bank’s headquarters being in Shangai should not deter India’s hopes as we will have the bank’s stewardship during these formative years and this will be fruitful to the economy.
Original link is here
Five emerging nations plan a development bank of their own
Original Link is here
by Mehboob Jeelani , Fortune
July 15, 2014, 9:53 PM EDT
Leaders of big developing nations hope to create an alternative to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as a sign of independence.
Leaders of five big emerging nations plan to create a bank to fund development projects plus an emergency reserve to counter the powerful World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The plan was announced Tuesday at the annual BRICS summit, an acronym taken from the name of the participating countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The idea is to create an alternative to the major international lending sources so as not to be so dependent on them for money and as a symbol of political strength.
The development bank – funded with $100 from the five member states – will be headquartered in Shanghai and, in its first phase, headed by an Indian president. Although China will be bank’s largest donor, each nation will own an equal share of the bank and have an equal say in governance and policy making. Another $100 billion will be allotted to an emergency reserve fund.
BRICS countries account for 42% of the world’s population and represents $6.14 trillion in annual trade. They contribute roughly 20% of the world’s economy based on GDP.
The BRICS summit took place against the backdrop of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a Russia-China natural gas deal and the change of government in India. The proceedings were therefore of utmost importance to the U.S from a foreign policy standpoint.
“I think the big message to me coming out of the summit is BRICS are trying to create a safety net that means if the U.S. and Europe tried to isolate and sanction one of them they have something to fall back on,” said Thomas Wright, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who focuses on international relations. “The most worrying parts are that they didn’t say anything critical of Russia on Ukraine. Basically they sent out a message that they had no problem with anything with what Putin was doing.”
BRICS was established just prior to 2008 financial crisis with Brazil, Russia, India and China. Two years later, they welcomed South Africa to the club. The member nations vary in their economic health and, in some cases, are undergoing economic problems. But they’ve found a diplomatic and political rationale to exist that Wright described as being based on the idea that “not to have all roads go through the West.”
While Russian President Vladimir Putin boldly expresses his views on BRICS—that he’ll press other emerging markets to find ways to prevent “sanction attacks” by the U.S.—other leaders are cautious about their response.
“Together we should think about a system of measures that would help prevent the harassment of countries that do not agree with some foreign policy decisions made by the U.S. and their allies, but would promote a civilized dialogue on all points based on mutual respect,” Putin said in The Moscow Times.
In the past, the BRICS have struggled to reach a consensus. First they could not agree on a candidate to head the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank in 2011 and 2012. Then recently India and South Africa signaled they may backtrack on a trade agreement initially endorsed by all five countries. Many experts perceived it as a group too “splintered” to make any change.
With today’s summit, BRICS managed to break that perception and move forward to realign the economic balance for future development. “It is an achievement for the countries who have not significantly sat on the high table on economic and political governance matters,” said Samir Saran, senior fellow and vice president at Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi based think-tank. “It is going to create a new ethos of economic governance.”
India lauds BRICS bank set up to counter Western hold on global finances Jul 16
Original link is here
New Delhi, July 16 (ANI): Experts and leaders, on Wednesday welcomed the setting up of $100 billion BRICS bank and a currency reserve pool aimed at reshaping the Western-dominated international financial system. Leaders of the five top emerging markets in BRICS nations consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, sealed the deal to foster financial and development cooperation and keep the monetary tap running in the face of a financial meltdown like the 2008 crisis. A senior researcher at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think-tank, Samir Saran, said bank would help emerging and developing nations to mobilize resources for infrastructure and development projects. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, welcomed the setting up of the bank, adding that the previous Congress -led government had committed to the Chinese demand to have the bank being headquarted in Shanghai
Samir Saran: Rebalance & Reform sets agenda for new Government
July 14, 2014, Monday, Niti Central
Original link is here
Samir Saran along with Mr. Raja Mohan, Mr. Manoj Joshi & Mr. Ashok Malik, authored a different kind of a book. Usually these kind of books get stocked up in reference sections of an economist’s library, but this is out in the market. While speaking on the situation that the Nation has been through in the last decade, he says, “UPA’s lack of political direction has resulted in economic crisis”. The book suggests ways to rebalance and reform the political situation for a brighter future.
BRICS needs doses of steroids to prosper
Original link is here
By Samir Saran & Vivan Sharan Source:Global Times
Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
The political leaders of BRICS member countries are facing pivotal national moments.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is simultaneously navigating her socialist and internationalist moment, after a face-off with the Americans on the NSA spying saga. She has reasserted Brazil’s propositional role in the global order by hosting the ambitious NETmundial – Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s European misadventures have gotten him embroiled in a controversial international debate on sovereignty, while his country’s economy struggles to overcome structural flaws.
On the back of a decisive popular mandate, the new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces tough regional challenges, even as he tries to revive industrial output and create jobs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in charge of an administration which has courted altercations on various fronts while in search of a new and sustainable model for economic growth.
And recently re-elected South African President Jacob Zuma has to contend with both a weak political mandate and rising socioeconomic inequity, while attempting to reconcile differences with African neighbors.
Each of the BRICS leaders is faced with significant challenges. How useful will coordination and cooperation at the BRICS platform be for each of them? The BRICS platform itself will first need doses of steroids if it is to remain viable.
This past year has been quite unsettling for those interested and invested in BRICS. Economic growth of the member countries has been below par. The external economic environment has not been favorable either.
The promise of BRICS is based on new economic and political opportunities. The group is lean and lithe by design and therefore has the right ingredients to make for a 21st century cooperation and coordination platform. Both these characteristics were on display when the group met in India in 2012, where a number of forward-looking economic and political decisions were made. However, neither critical decision-making nor effective implementation has been on display over the last year. Relating to this, there are five concerns that must be addressed at this year’s BRICS summit.
First of all, the focus of the previous summit was clearly on African issues. The eThekwini Declaration in 2013 focuses on unlocking Africa’s potential, regional integration for Africa’s growth and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. With the continued moderation of growth rates, the grouping must prioritize domestic economic imperatives and close commercial ties rather than narrowly focus on a single region or use the platform for regional grandstanding.
The second concern follows directly from the first. BRICS members have large stakes in the international system and share the common aspiration of becoming global agenda-setters. Indeed, they must not continue to be passive recipients of rules and standards in vital areas such as global trade and investment.
Third, the new areas of cooperation listed in last year’s declaration outlining areas for immediate collaboration are strikingly vague. As a result of myopic drafting, a rather counter-productive role reversal has taken place. The interactions between non-government stakeholders have started to lag behind inter-governmental interactions.
Governments have limited vocabulary and dynamism compared with the private sector and civil society and intra-BRICS cooperation must be unfettered and creative. An example is the BRICS Exchange Alliance, a market-led initiative to integrate financial trading platforms. Such concrete efforts must be replicated rather than endlessly expand the list of issues to cooperate on for the sake of seeming ambitious.
The fourth concern relates to the veritable silence on BRICS engagements in the world media following the high-profile summit last year. Perception-building must take greater precedence at this summit. This must be aided by the timely dissemination of information on actions such as the setting up of the Contingency Reserve Fund and a BRICS-led development bank.
And finally, perhaps the most critical issue for the five BRICS leaders, who will meet at the sunny shores of Fortaleza, will be practical goal-setting. This will be an exercise in planning and coordination to maintain continuity as well as honing in on objectives for the long term. If there is an opportunity to be seized in cross-leveraging political and economic ties, it will be in the coming years.
Samir Saran is a vice president and Vivan Sharan is an associate fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Delhi. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
BRICS of a new world
Opinion, July 12, 2014
Original link is here
BRICS must mitigate the systemic risks posed by imbalances in the global economic system, perpetuated by Western central banks. (Source: Reuters photo)
The Fortaleza summit should address the undermining of the multilateral trading system.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first major foreign visit, to the BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, is in the news for a variety of reasons. But there is little discussion on what is at stake and the possible takeaways for BRICS, and particularly India.
This is a crucial moment for the world, faced with a central European face-off, the long tail of the financial crisis, trouble in the western Pacific, a stalemate on trade and environment, new contests in cyberspace and outer space and a new irrationality in the Middle East. BRICS, particularly India, are vulnerable to downward spirals in any of these areas. India must seek to first protect and then promote its interests at this platform. The new prime minister is the right man for this task and there are five key areas he must navigate.
The first is the big-ticket BRICS-led development bank, proposed at the New Delhi summit in 2012. While China has clear ambitions, a worse outcome would be to allow the creation of a Chinese version of the Asian Development Bank. The new bank must follow a one-country-one-vote formula, and allow other states and institutions to invest capital in return for a minority controlling stake and returns commensurate to their investments. BRICS members must walk the talk on the “equity and fairness” they seek from the West. By allowing each BRICS country equal weight in ownership of the bank, they would demonstrably craft a model for other IFIs to emulate.
The second area is global trade and investment. Through the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), developed economies are seeking to redirect trade and investment flows. They will do so by instituting new rules, standards and tariffs, and by gradually dismantling the multilateral system (WTO) that India and others believe to be essential. BRICS must seek to counter the negative externalities from such mega free trade arrangements (FTAs). While it is expected that BRICS will announce export guarantees and agreements on innovation and banking, the members must also commission academic assessments of the impact of imminent mega FTAs and coping strategies.
Third, BRICS must mitigate the systemic risks posed by the imbalances in the global economic system, perpetuated by the central banks of advanced economies. BRICS leaders are expected to launch a foreign exchange reserve fund of $100 billion as a hedging mechanism. This will resemble the Chiang Mai Initiative, put in place by Asean+3 after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. It is essentially a pooling arrangement, with China contributing $41 billion, Brazil, Russia and India $18 billion, and South Africa $5 billion. Indeed, Modi would do well to suggest that BRICS take a principled position on recent policy decisions by Western central banks, already suspected to be fuelling new asset class bubbles.
Fourth, over the years, political content in the outcome statement has increased dramatically. BRICS states will need to discover common approaches on political developments in different regions. In particular, the stability of southwest Asia is critical to India, and as the US withdraws from Afghanistan, there is bound to be a jostle for political capital. Can BRICS catalyse the RIC (Russia, India and China) into discovering a basis for meaningful cooperation in the region? Here, the bilateral meetings on the sidelines will be vital. Similarly, Russian expectations on collective support for its position on Ukraine will need to be delicately managed.
The fifth area pertains to cyber governance and cybersecurity. There are clear differences in the positions of BRICS members. Russia has passed a bill requiring all technology companies to store personal user data on domestic servers. This closely mirrors developments in China that ensure local data storage and government control. Meanwhile, the Brazilians, who hosted the “Net Mundial”, have positioned themselves alongside the US and EU, favouring a multi-stakeholder framework. India sees a greater “state” role as it seeks to connect its “next billion” to the internet. There is an opportunity to recognise these cleavages, and develop a calibrated approach for discovering common digital ground. That each BRICS member has either the US or EU as its most important economic partner in the digital world may help.
The Fortaleza summit will represent the reboot of BRICS. This is a different world altogether, with the Brazilians seemingly reasserting a “Lulaesque” style of external engagement, the Russians defiant and petulant at the same time, the Chinese testing the geographical limits of their economic and political ambitions, and the South Africans seemingly wedded to their regional aspirations. Prime Minister Modi has the biggest political mandate among his BRICS counterparts, and also the weight of the largest expectations.
The writer is vice president, Observer Research Foundation. Views are personal
The #NaMo wave has yet to translate into effective governance
Original link is here
Published: 22:50 GMT, 30 June 2014, MailOnline India, Mail Today
Author and eminent scholar Dan Hahn described successful political communication as something where “some will be attracted to what is said, to the position taken by the orator. Others will be impressed by the orator’s crafting of the speech – the organisation, the word choice, or the how the language is combined.”
He might as well have been describing the #NaMo campaign, where the combination of a message of hope, soft ideology and communication craftsmanship has attracted a substantial number of voters within and outside BJP’s traditional vote bank.
Assessment
The new Indian PM ran an efficient and professional campaign that was arguably even more innovative than the first Obama campaign.
Moving forward: Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) invited his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif (right) to his swearing-in ceremony, a move which characterised the forward thinking nature of his election campaign. The momentum has yet to translate into major institutional changes
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However, the million-dollar question is whether PM Modi will be able to institutionalise this communication expertise into a durable feature of his time in office, or if he will struggle, as President Obama has in recent years, to communicate his initiatives and vision to large parts of the citizenry.
The first 30 days offer us a moment to reflect on the communication performance of the PM. It is a mixed bag.
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On the upside, we have witnessed deft public positioning, like the invitation extended to South Asian neighbours during his swearing-in ceremony or his visit to Bhutan – each appreciated as significant gestures and adding to his image as a progressive leader.
We have seen the institutionalisation of social media by the Modi Cabinet to reach out to citizens. And we now have #NaMo on twitter in person and in his official persona.
Yet, something is amiss. The PM’s persuasive presence during his campaign is now reduced to clinical digital chatter.
The message, therefore, is incomplete and sometimes unclear. Other voices, some of dissent (rail price hike) and other incongruent, from within and outside his party are muddying the waters very early into his term in office.
The communication code that he had cracked seems to have been misplaced and it is apparent that the campaign team that ably communicated PM aspirant Modi’s vision to many, is either avoiding the Delhi summers or is distracted.
During the election, candidate Modi was ahead of the curve. He was proactive and anticipated issues; he sidestepped curve balls and revelled in responding to provocations.
After the elections, PM Modi has been playing catch up, been largely reactive, and has failed to anticipate imminent challenges.
Vision
Modi has prided himself in being able to empower and use the bureaucracy in Gujarat, and now he hopes to do the same in Delhi.
However, is his communication also going to be defined by the not-so-creative Delhi Durbar? Will slow-moving bureaucratic systems do justice to a man known for his glib oratory skills and deft communication?
Let’s take the swearing-in ceremony as a case in point.
The soon-to-be Indian PM invited Nawaz Sharif and other SAARC leaders (and Mauritius) for his swearing-in ceremony. It was a grand spectacle that did create excitement and was largely appreciated, and yet one was left with a hollow feeling the day after.
Groundbreaking: The new Indian PM ran an efficient and professional campaign that was arguably even more innovative than the first Obama campaign
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We got to know what the MEA felt about it – its official statement offered standard, cut and dry and politically correct fare.
We know what every Pakistan watcher and self-styled foreign policy expert on television and on the op-ed pages thinks about it. But we still do not know what PM Modi thinks about it.
What is this big-picture neighbourhood philosophy that he seems to be crafting? Or is there one? It was his show all the way, and his views and vision are still missing.
More recently, when the rapes and murders took place in Badaun and when the Muslim youth was killed in Pune, a calibrated communication response was required.
While there may have been no need for the PM to react himself, a statement from the Home Minister, showing concern, would have helped assuage the shrill response by civil society and the media.
The government was absent on this count.
PM Modi must realise that his victory is his to own alone, and so is all that goes wrong.
Revitalise
Silence is golden, but there is such a thing as too much silence. These are early days and PM Modi is not really affected. Yet, a crisis could unfold at any point. That is the nature of government, and systems must be in place.
Modi has always faced a hostile media. This has not changed since his election. The honeymoon period may be shorter than anticipated and questions will be asked, and the din will get louder each week.
During the election campaign, his masterstroke was bypassing media and engaging directly with people. He needs to do this while being in office as well.
It will help to explain the big but potentially controversial policies he wants to pursue.
Of course, he can’t do it every week or every day as he did during the campaign.As such he will need to think of a routine, and of a creative mechanism to manage public expectations and the media.
The PRO cannot remain out of bounds for the media, not for the media’s sake but for the sake of the PM and for the policy line he wishes to perpetuate and guard.
In power: The PM’s persuasive presence during his campaign is now reduced to clinical digital chatter
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This is how governments work everywhere. Twitter and other social media platforms are excellent communication tools and the PM has mastered their political potency faster than most Indian politicians.
In government, he needs to build a platform that combines social media with more traditional communications mechanisms.
He needs to disrupt the lethargy of the Lutyens communication machinery by introducing some of his young campaign team into the mix, and he needs to reinvent and revitalise #NaMo in his new role as PM.
It was #NaMo that got him here.
The writer is Vice-President and Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation
PM’s Politics of Communication by Samir Saran
PM’s Politics of Communication by Samir Saran
The new Indian PM ran an efficient and professional campaign that was arguably even more innovative than the first Obama campaign.
PM’s Politics of Communication by Samir Saran
Author and eminent scholar Dan Hahn described successful political communication as one where “some will be attracted to what is said, to the position taken by the orator. Others will be impressed by the orator’s crafting of the speech-the organisation, the word choice, or the how the language is combined.” He might as well have been describing the NaMo campaign, where the combination of a message of hope, soft ideology and communication craftsmanship was able to attract a substantial number of voters within and outside BJP’s traditional vote bank.
Assessment
The new Indian PM ran an efficient and professional campaign that was arguably even more innovative than the first Obama campaign. However, the million- dollar question is whether PM Modi will be able to institutionalise this communication expertise into a durable feature of his time in office or would he struggle, like President Obama has in recent years, to be able to communicate his initiatives and vision to large parts of the citizenry.
The first 30 days offer us a moment to reflect on the communication performance of the PM. It is a mixed bag. On the upside, we have witnessed deft public positioning, like the invitation extended to South Asian neighbours during his swearing-in ceremony or his visit to Bhutan, each appreciated as significant gestures and adding to his image as a progressive leader. We have seen the institutionalisation of social media by the Modi Cabinet to reach out to citizens.
And we now have #NaMo on twitter in person and in his official persona.
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Yet, something is amiss. The PM’s persuasive presence during his campaign is now reduced to clinical digital chatter. The message therefore is incomplete and sometime unclear.
Other voices, some of dissent (rail price hike) and other incongruent, from within and outside his party are muddying the waters very early into his term in office. The communication code that he had cracked seems to have been misplaced and it is apparent that the campaign team that ably communicated PM aspirant Modi’s vision to many, is either avoiding the Delhi summers or is distracted.
During the election, candidate Modi was ahead of the curve. He was proactive and anticipated issues; he sidestepped curve balls and revelled in responding to provocations. After the elections, PM Modi has been playing catch up, been largely reactive and has failed to anticipate imminent challenges.
Vision
Modi has prided himself in being able to empower and use the bureaucracy in Gujarat, and now he hopes to do the same in Delhi. However, is his communication also going to be defined by the not so creative Delhi Durbar? Will slow moving bureaucratic systems do justice to a man known for his glib oratory and deft communication? Let’s take the swearing in ceremony as a case in point. The to be Indian PM invited Nawaz Sharif and other SAARC leaders (and Mauritius) for his swearingin ceremony. It was a grand spectacle that did create excitement and was largely appreciated and yet one was left with a hollow feeling the day after. We got to know what the MEA felt about it-its official statement offered standard, cut and dry and politically correct fare.
We know what every Pakistan watcher and self-styled foreign policy expert on television and on the op-ed pages thinks about it. But we still do not know what PM Modi thinks about it. What is this big-picture neighbourhood philosophy that he seems to be crafting? Or is there one? It was his show all the way, and his views and vision are still missing.
More recently, when the rapes and murders took place in Badaun and when the Muslim youth was killed in Pune, a calibrated communication response was required. While there may have been no need for the PM to react himself, a statement from the Home Minister, showing concern would have helped assuage the shrill response by civil society and the media. The government was absent on this count. PM Modi must realise that his victory is his to own alone, and so is all that goes wrong.
Revitalise
Silence is golden but there is such a thing as too much silence! These are early days and PM Modi is not really affected. Yet, a crisis could unfold at any point. That is the nature of government and systems must be in place. He has always faced a hostile media. This has not changed since his election. The honeymoon period may be shorter than anticipated and questions will be asked and the din will get louder each week.
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During the election campaign, his masterstroke was bypassing media and engaging directly with people. He needs to do this while being in office as well. It will help to explain the big but potentially controversial policies he wants to pursue. Of course, he can’t do it every week or every day as he did during the campaign. As such he will need to think of a routine, and of a creative mechanism to manage public expectations and the media. The PRO cannot remain out of bounds for the media, not for the media’s sake but for the sake of the PM and for the policy line he wishes to perpetuate and guard. This is how governments work everywhere.
Twitter and other social media platforms are excellent communication tools and the PM has mastered their political potency faster than most Indian politicians.
In government, he needs to build a platform that combines social media with more traditional communications mechanisms. He needs to disrupt the lethargy of the Lutyens communication machinery by introducing some of his young campaign team into the mix and he needs to reinvent and revitalise # NaMo in his new role as PM. It was # NaMo that got him here.
The writer is Vice President & Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation
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Samir Saran 