![]() When he was elected, opposition parties that supported his electoral opponent Prabowo Subianto controlled 352 of 560 seats in parliament. Much like his Indian counterpart, Jokowi has struggled to overcome parliamentary gridlock. However, that will eventually expire too, and Modi is no closer to convincing lawmakers to pass the unpopular measure in the upper house. ![]() ![]() Modi issued an executive order bypassing parliament and approving the reform earlier this year, but the order expires on April 5, and the government’s rural development ministry will now issue its own decree to keep the law in place. The regulations have slowed and halted a slew of projects in the past, but critics, including the opposition Congress party, contend that the new rules would take land away from poor farmers and benefit rich investors instead. Under current regulations, these purchases require the approval of 80% of nearby residents and a favorable social impact study. The bill aims to encourage investment and development by eliminating complex restrictions on land purchases for housing construction and industrial or military use. On the other hand, Modi’s plan lays out an ambitious tax reform that lowers corporate tax rates while increasing service tax, with the aim of spurring investment.ĭespite the positives in the budget, however, Modi has so far failed to implement his flagship land reform bill, currently languishing in the opposition-held upper house of the Indian parliament. The Indonesian President has promised free health care and education for all Indonesian citizens, a replica of his local programmes in Solo and Jakarta, but national health care spending has not risen from the 2014 budget. While Modi seeks to cut the size of government and decrease corporate tax rates, Jokowi’s budget includes almost $3 billion in investment in state-owned enterprises. Modi plans to spend $12 billion on infrastructure spending, less than Jokowi’s pledged $23.2 billion, but both plan to finance this outlay largely through savings from fuel subsidy cuts made possible by a decrease in global fuel prices. Promising to extend free healthcare and education to all and to rid politics of corruption, Jokowi, like Modi, spoke directly to the needs and concerns of millions.īoth governments unveiled their first budgets in late February, and they share striking similarities as well as differences. Widodo, commonly known as Jokowi, represented a radical break from traditional Indonesian politics: born poor, he rose to political prominence by winning local elections-introduced in 1999 as a means of decentralization-on records of effective governance in Solo, a city in central Java, and the capital, Jakarta. In Indonesia’s presidential election in June 2014, citizens decisively backed Joko Widodo, the then-Governor of Jakarta, over Prabowo Subianto, a former general with close ties to political and economic elites in addition to a checkered human rights record. Running on a platform of reforming the economy, providing basic sanitation, and eradicating corruption, Modi spoke to the daily concerns of ordinary Indians rather than engaging in the staid vote-buying tactics of his opponents. ![]() In India’s month-long general election held in April-May 2014, Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) captured a majority of seats in the lower house, obliterating the long-ruling yet ineffective Indian Congress party. When presented with a choice between a stagnant, corrupt political elite and an uncertain yet dynamic choice for a change in course, voters in the two countries decisively opted for the latter. Meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joko Widodo, the men who hold the keys to India and Indonesia’s futures, but have yet to find the lock. In both nations, two challengers who were born in poverty emerged from outside the traditional elite - one a former tea seller, the other an ex-furniture salesman - campaigning on bread-and-butter issues and broader promises of equality and prosperity, with both ultimately scoring stunning, unprecedented victories. ![]() Last year, in a monumental exercise of democracy, nearly six hundred and ninety million voters went to the polls to elect new leaders in the two countries. Over one and half billion people live in India and Indonesia, two immense nations whose histories have long been intertwined. Indian PM Narendra Modi and Indonesian President Joko Widodo shake hands at the East Asia Summit Source: Antara ![]()
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