Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking to an audience in Gujarat on Thursday said, that he is prepared to bear the political losses that may arise due the implementation economic reforms that the government has taken, such as the demonetisation, implementation of GST, overhauling of the banking system and implementation of the Aadhaar based accountability for digital transactions.

PM Modi, however, justified his decisions, by saying that, “When we came in 2014 what did we get in inheritance? The condition of the economy, the condition of governance, the fiscal condition of the country and the condition of the banking system, all were in dire straits. Our country was counted as one amongst the fragile five countries of the world.”

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PM Modi went on to say that major and permanent changes are not easy to make and require overhauling of the whole system if such changes are to be sustained. Only because our government was able to take these major changes, in just three years of our government the country’s ranking in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ has improved from 142 to 100.

When schemes are implemented with speed and quick action, then only the country progresses. There must have been some changes in the way the government works that the speed of all government plans and their implementation have picked up the pace in last few years, said PM Modi.

The tools are the same, the resources are the same, but the system has now picked up speed. This has happened because the government is developing a new work culture in the bureaucracy.

Ever since the government has started pushing for digital payments and transactions, the form of ‘organised corruption’ which was earlier present has largely come to a stop. The PM said, “I know clearly how much will it cost me politically, but I am ready for that too.”

PM Modi also talked about how by linking of Aadhaar with the mobile phones, we have been able to build a system, which could not be thought of until a few years ago.

In the last 3 years, millions of fake names have been removed from various government-related schemes and system with the help of Aadhaar. It is also going to be a big weapon against the curse of ‘Benami’ properties.

Talking of the Aadhaar number, the PM said that Aadhaar is a powerful tool which the government is using to ensure that the poor receive their rightful dues.

The Aadhaar can be used to ensure cheap ration for the poor, scholarships for students from modest backgrounds, providing subsidy in medical expenses, pension disbursement, subsidies from the government, and basically be the main basis for reaching out to the poor for making their life better.

At the same time, PM Modi said that after the ban on high currency notes under demonetisation, there has been a big change in the country. This is the first time since independence when the corrupt people are scared of dealing in transactions of undisclosed money and income.

There is fear of being caught and hence the black money that was the basis of the parallel economy has now come into the formal economy.