India has entered a full-fledged “reform express” phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, signalling an aggressive push toward governance reforms, besides structural changes to bolster the factors of economic production.
Addressing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parliamentary party meeting here, Modi said that no law should ever burden citizens and that all rules and regulations must be framed solely to ensure convenience and improve everyday life.
Modi on the purpose of reforms
Modi underlined that reforms must go beyond economics or revenue mobilisation to become deeply citizen-centric. The core objective, he said, is to eliminate daily hurdles faced by ordinary people so that they can realise their full potential.
He stressed the need for easy access to public services, reducing paperwork, ending the culture of 30-40-page forms and repetitive data submissions, and ensuring that government processes are seamless and efficient.
What did Kiren Rijiju say?
Briefing the media after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said: “The Prime Minister has laid great emphasis on reforms to improve people’s lives. Reforms do not just mean economic reforms or financial reforms. He meant reforms to make the lives of ordinary people in the country easier and more comfortable. Reforms in every sector. So, he has given us very good guidelines”. “Now we will work in this direction. The central government, the state governments and the local self-governing bodies like the municipalities and panchayats, all should work in this direction…,” he said.
The government is set to push several reform-oriented Bills in Parliament, including the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, which seeks to decriminalise 288 provisions across 16 Acts and promote ease of living by simplifying procedures in key sectors like municipal governance and transport.
Modi offered clear guidelines to MPs, emphasising that the central focus of the government’s third term is the “reform express”.
The meeting began with Modi being felicitated for the NDA’s emphatic victory in the Bihar elections, where the alliance secured 202 of 243 seats, paving the way for Nitish Kumar’s return as chief minister for a tenth term.