The Narendra Modi government, after 12 years in power, needs a significant (and non-cosmetic) makeover. While it has recovered after the 2024 setback by registering huge wins in West Bengal and Assam, following on the heels of Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi and Bihar earlier, these political successes are not an end in themselves. Despite a good macroeconomic record so far, there is no guarantee that the government will be able to guide the economy through the current global and technological disruptions unless it has competent people manning the operations. It should work on the assumption that it may take only one major failure for the entire political narrative around its successes to start unravelling.
The NEET paper leaks and the ongoing loss of public confidence in the CBSE exam results (which have been badly managed when new technology needs a prolonged period of testing) show that someone is either sleeping on his watch or not very competent. The needle of accountability points towards Dharmendra Pradhan, who surely is not indispensable to the Modi government, either politically or economically. What should worry us all is that Modi has chosen fairly ordinary talent to head a ministry which oversees one of the most important challenges for India: educating our millions. It is difficult to understand why this important ministry is headed only by people with no real competence in this area.Even otherwise, the Modi government has too few visible performers, and too many ministers whose only reason for existence is either political loyalty, or because they meet some kind of regional or caste representation criteria.
