The General Elections of 2014 saw a resounding victory for the BJP. Projecting Narendra Modi as a decisive leader, the BJP promised sweeping changes from the Congress-led UPA governments. Its election campaign was built on the planks of sabka vikas (development for all) and freedom from corruption, along with improved governance. So, did the NDA-II government delivers on its promise of development? Or, as Amartys Sen asserted, did India take a ‘quantum leap in the wrong direction?’

A Quantum Leap in the Wrong Direction? compares the promises made during the run-up to the 2014 elections and the outcomes over the past five years.

Each chapter of this book assesses different policies and initiatives of the government. They examine its macro-economic policies like demonetisation and GST; policies in the sectors of employment, agriculture, banking and foreign affairs; its initiatives in the areas of health, education, environment, on gender, and for the marginalised sections. It assesses the government’s success in the area of governance and in addressing corruption.

Moving away from partisan debates that resort to propaganda and provide no answers, the authors rely on an assessment of available official data and other reputable information, and thereby, let the facts speak for themselves.

About the volume editors

Rohit Azad teaches economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Shouvik Chakraborty is a researcher at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Srinivasan Ramani is Associate Editor at The Hindu. Dipa Sinha teaches at School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi.