While Modi Has 'Professionally Run' Govt, UPA Had 'Scam-Led' One: Jyotiraditya Scindia | Interview

Last Updated:July 03, 2025, 08:00 IST

Scindia told News18 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought a 'paradigm shift' into governance

He described how in his previous role as the Civil Aviation Minister in Modi government 2.0, the number of airports in the country went up from 74 to 158. (File image: News18)

Jyotiraditya Scindia is someone who has been a minister in both Modi government 2.0 and the one running since June 2024, as well as during the Congress-led UPA. Ask him what was different working as a minister in UPA versus at present, and he sums it up in one sentence: it is now a “professional environment".

Speaking with CNN-News18 in an exclusive interview, Scindia said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought a “paradigm shift" into governance. “I relish working in this professional environment, a target-driven environment. We are looking at transforming lives. There has never been a government in India that has been able to transform lives on such a large scale. 55 crore Jan Dhan accounts, Direct Benefit Transfer, and Ayushman Bharat schemes are big examples. We are catering to the population of the US in many schemes. This is a change on a social scale that our country has never seen before. In Modi, you have the capability of someone who has seen the pain at the grassroots level, and he changed things first at the state level in Gujarat and now is doing it at the national level," Scindia told CNN-News18.

The Union Minister of Communications and DoNER explained how, prior to entering public service, he was a professional and worked for six years. When asked if he agrees with the perception that Modi works with a CEO-driven approach, Scindia said, “absolutely". He described how in his previous role as the Civil Aviation Minister in Modi government 2.0, the number of airports in the country went up from 74 to 158. Scindia said that the Congress-led administration was a dismal failure in terms of connectivity, and it was a “scam-led government", specifically in the vertical of telecom. “We have today about 1.2 billion mobile subscribers (from 900 million in 2014) and 974 million people with internet connectivity (from 250 million in 2014)—which is nearly a four-fold jump in the last 10 years," Scindia said.

The Union Minister went on to say that India had the fastest 5G rollout and will lead the world on 6G. “Within 22 months, we had close to Rs 4.5 lakh crore of capex by private sector and public sector telcos. 99.6% of districts have been connected. Close to 300 million people are on 5G in India; that is a revolution. PM Modi has the capability to ideate and then execute plans," Scindia told CNN-News18.

Aman Sharma

Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office....Read More

Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office....

Read More

Location :

First Published:

News politics While Modi Has 'Professionally Run' Govt, UPA Had 'Scam-Led' One: Jyotiraditya Scindia | Interview