"We will promote Indian all those export businesses that do not require any imports, such as software, call centers, etc."
"I plan to reach computers in every corner of India by 1993. By 1994, there will be a computer in every village and school, and also 3G public internet."
Hearing Aryan's words, the Minister of Information Technology and Minister of Telecommunication, Nivedita Dey, raised her hand and asked, "Sir Prime Minister, we do not yet have 2G public internet technology. So..."
"Nivedita Ji, to tell you the truth, I got a new technology from my personal source the other day, and that is 3G internet technology... We will be 10 years ahead of the world if we spread this 3G internet all over India." Aryan gave Nivedita a document and a CD about 3G internet technology.
He believes in the titles he gets from the system. With that title, Aryan can trust all the members of his party. Besides, he has known Nivedita for so many years, so he trusts her even more that she will not hand over this technology to another country.
All the ministers' eyes lit up. They all had hearty smiles on their faces. Discussions began in the cabinet.
Seeing everyone happy, Aryan was pleased, but he cautioned, "But I want everyone to keep this technology a secret for now."
"We will reveal this technology to the world when we are successful in spreading the internet across India. Before that, everyone will know it as 2G internet technology."
"Nivedita Ji, you will share this technology with the trusted private companies in India. We will give them land and technology, and they will give us shares. We can't spend our extra energy and money there."
"Great! Thank you, Prime Minister." Nivedita politely thanked Aryan.
. . . . .
"Since we are going to export finished products, we need our own brand that will represent our country and identify that we are exporting branded and quality products."
"By mid-1991, we will form the [Made in India] brand label that will test the quality of the products. And we will form an Indian Export Institute."
Now, to all the ministers, Aryan's plan doesn't seem like just a plan. It's like he's already taken the initiative to do it. He's telling them now he's not asking for their permission.
"We will give one day [Import Holiday] and one day [Export Holiday] every year. On these two days, we will impose a 0% tariff on imports and exports. It will keep the company's laziness away, and the company's modernization will be faster."
"We will reduce the company license processing time from two years to two months. We cannot waste so much time. Maybe in two years, they will change their mind, which will be a loss for us."
. . . . . .
"Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Rural Development, Gangadhar Tilak, you and Minister of Road Transportation, Pandit Vikas Mishra, you two ministers, you two make a plan on how to connect all the rural villages of India with highways and paved roads."
"Minister of Railways, Zoya Irani, you should make a plan for cargo trains."
"I gave everyone one week to come up with a detention plan. The maximum time is two weeks."
Aryan finally gave Ramesh the Intraregional Cluster Blueprint and the Smart City Blueprint to Minister of Urban Affairs Akhankha Sharma and said, "You observe these two blueprints. There is no rush. You can take your time to look at them."
. . . . .
Discussions continued for several more hours.
The concern that was on everyone's faces at the beginning of the meeting is no longer there. They all relaxed and enjoyed the discussion among themselves for a long time.
And finally, after some time, their first cabinet meeting came to an end.
Aryan decided to return home today. So he asked his mother to wait, and after finishing some paperwork, he would return home with his mother.
After some time, Aryan finished his work and went with his mother, and behind them was the SPG (Special Protection Group).
As they were coming out, the media surrounded them.
DD News, All India Radio, Indian Express, Annandabazar Patrika, Malayala Manorama, etc. were present.
"Sir, will you take a loan from the IMF?"
"Sir, everyone is saying that you started the movement against the license raj just to enter politics. Is that true?"
"Sir..."
"Sir, Prime Minister, after hearing your vision, we feel like you know everything. Will you explain something about the inside story?"
As Aryan was about to answer one by one, he heard a familiar voice.
He saw a young lady asking Aryan questions. She had a fountain pen and a notebook in her hand.
Aryan twisted his lips and asked with a headache, "You again...?"
Aryan's mother, Snigdha, smiled from behind.
The young lady's name is Rekha Sharma. She is an Investigative Journalist for the Indian Express (Delhi Bureau). She knows Hindi, English, Tamil, French, and Bengali. She is 29 years old. Her father was a veteran journalist who died during the Emergency.
Rekha has been following Aryan ever since he started a movement against the License Raj in 1985.
The question-and-answer structure between the two of them is a bit like cat and mouse.
Aryan shook his head, ignoring her, and told everyone, "We will not take a loan from the IMF. Maybe the previous prime minister thought about taking a loan from the IMF, but our government will take a different path."
"We won't just fix the economy... We'll grow it."
"I said in my previous speech that we want to make India self-reliant, and we will do that which will make us truly self-reliant."
"Taking a loan from the IMF means postponing India's development by five to six years...and more importantly, the strength of our rupee will decrease. Do you want to see that?"
"And if there is a question about the License Raj, it is natural that we will destroy it, but there are many rules and regulations for that. It is not that since I became the Prime Minister, I can do anything."
"Give me a few months, and you will see our India enter a new era."
Then, Aryan bid farewell to everyone without giving them much time to ask questions.
He was tired now. He had not slept the night before, and now he had a headache after the cabinet meeting.
However, before he left, he did not forget to provoke Rekha. He did not answer her question and entered the car with a playful smile.
. . . .
"Aryan, where did you get that 3G internet technology and blueprints?" Snigdha asked him while Aryan was sitting with his eyes closed.
Aryan and Snigdha were supposed to have separate cars, but Aryan made his mother sit in his own car.
"That! I have a friend who doesn't want to come out in public and secretly wants to improve India. He gave it to me." Aryan told her a white lie.
Snigdha was suspicious and looked at her son's face, but she didn't ask much. She changed the subject and asked playfully, "Hey, Aryan, do you like Rekha?"
Aryan was stunned and didn't answer, pretending to be sleeping quietly.
As if she had discovered something, Snigdha smiled and shook her head, seeing Aryan's closed eyes.
. . . . . .