The UPA Years, 2004-14
Modern History › India After Nehru · Topic 32.11
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance governed for ten years under Manmohan Singh, who was sworn in on 22 May 2004 after Sonia Gandhi declined the post. The first term brought NREGA, RTI and the Indo-US nuclear deal; the second term brought the Right to Education Act, the Telangana decision, the Nirbhaya law, the Food Security Act and the Lokpal Act, amid corruption charges and policy paralysis that led to defeat in 2014.
9 min read · UPSC Prelims · History · India After Nehru
At a Glance
- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 22 May 2004 to May 2014
- Key welfare laws NREGA, RTI (2005), RTE (2009), Food Security (2013)
- Nuclear deal Signed October 2008
- Telangana Act of February 2014; state formed June 2014
- Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: India After Nehru
Where Does It Fit?
This is the eleventh topic of the category on India after Nehru. The previous topic covered the NDA years. This topic covers the UPA governments from 2004 to 2014. The next topic covers the NDA government of 2014-19. Previous topic: NDA Years: Pokhran II, Lahore Summit and Kargil War.
How Was the UPA Formed?
After the 2004 defeat of the NDA, described in NDA Years: Pokhran II, Lahore Summit and Kargil War, the Congress joined minor parties to form the United Progressive Alliance, which had more numbers than the NDA. President Abdul Kalam invited it to form the government, and with outside support from the BSP, Samajwadi Party, Kerala Congress and the Left, it had a comfortable majority. Sonia Gandhi, the natural choice as party president, declined the post, saying she followed her inner voice, and nominated Manmohan Singh, who had initiated the reforms as finance minister under Narasimha Rao. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 22 May 2004 as a member of the Rajya Sabha. A common minimum programme guided policy and, as the communist parties had a role in framing it, policies were seen as left of centre. Sonia Gandhi remained Congress president and UPA chairperson and chaired the National Advisory Council of social activists, which pushed welfare ideas.
What Were the Welfare Measures and Reforms of the First Term?
| Measure | Details |
|---|---|
| National Rural Employment Guarantee Act | Started in 2006 and later named after Mahatma Gandhi; guaranteed rural households 100 days of paid labour a year, with one-third of the work for women; the largest welfare scheme of its kind |
| National Rural Health Mission | Started in 2005 by the health ministry |
| Right to Information Act, 2005 | Any citizen may ask a public authority for information, to be answered within thirty days, with authorities required to computerise records and publish categories of information |
| VAT, 2005 | Value added tax replaced the complicated sales tax |
Manmohan Singh was thought to have been restrained in reform by Sonia Gandhi and the National Advisory Council. The earlier reforms are in The Narasimha Rao Years: Economic Reform and Panchayati Raj.
What Were the Foreign Policy and Security Events of 2004-09?
The government sought stronger ties with the United States. Manmohan Singh visited the US in July 2005 to begin negotiations on a civil nuclear agreement, and when President George W. Bush visited in 2006 the declaration was made. India would gain access to American nuclear fuel and technology and in return open its civil reactors to IAEA inspection. The agreement was signed in October 2008 after the IAEA, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the US Congress approved it, ending the thirty-year American ban on nuclear trade with India. In July 2008 the Left withdrew support over the issue and the government won a confidence vote. With China, Hu Jintao visited in 2006, Manmohan Singh visited Beijing in 2008, and the Nathula Pass reopened in 2006 after more than four decades. In 2007 Pratibha Patil became the first woman President of India. The earlier tests that led to the sanctions are in NDA Years: Pokhran II, Lahore Summit and Kargil War.
India faced several terror attacks in 2006-08: blasts in Malegaon (2006), at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad (May 2007), at the Ajmer Dargah (2007), the Samjhauta Express blast in February 2007, bombings in Jaipur and Delhi in 2008, and then the attack of 26 November 2008 in Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists who came by boat, entered the Taj hotel, held guests hostage and attacked the Shivaji railway terminus. Nine attackers were killed and Ajmal Kasab was captured; his confession pointed to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, and he was hanged in November 2012. The National Investigation Agency was set up after the Mumbai attacks by an Act of December 2008. In the Samjhauta case, the NIA in 2011 accused eight people described as Hindu extremists, and in March 2019 an NIA court acquitted the accused for lack of evidence. In Kashmir there were protests in 2008 over land for Amarnath pilgrims, and again in 2010 after a youth was killed in police firing, with stone throwing, army deployment and a continuing debate over the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
What Happened in the 2009 Election and the Second Term?
In the April-May 2009 election, Congress posters showed Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who had become general secretary in 2007, and the BJP projected L.K. Advani. The Congress increased its tally without a majority, helped, in one reading, by a satisfied middle class, the nuclear deal, welfare schemes that appealed to women and the poor, and Rahul Gandhi’s appeal for young voters. Manmohan Singh was sworn in again on 22 May 2009 and became the first Prime Minister since Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full term.
| Matter | Details |
|---|---|
| Telangana | The Congress had allied with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti before 2004 and promised the state, but after the 2009 victory under Y.S.R. Reddy, who opposed bifurcation, it went back on it; after Reddy died in an air crash K. Chandrasekhar Rao fasted unto death in November 2009; in December 2009 the Centre announced the process; the Srikrishna Commission reported in December 2010 and was rejected by the TRS; Parliament passed the Telangana Bill in February 2014 with Hyderabad as shared capital for ten years; the state came into existence in June 2014 under KCR |
| West Bengal, 2011 | The Left Front, in office since 1977, was defeated and the Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee came to power |
| Right to Education Act, 2009 | Gave effect to Article 21A inserted by the 86th Amendment of 2002; free and compulsory education for ages six to fourteen from 1 April 2010; private schools to reserve 25 per cent for weaker sections, except minority institutions |
| Women’s reservation | A bill for 33 per cent seats was introduced in the Rajya Sabha but shelved when allies, especially the RJD, refused support |
| Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 | After the Delhi gang rape of December 2012 and mass protests, a committee under J.S. Verma reported in January 2013; the Act defined acid attack, sexual harassment, voyeurism and stalking as offences, penalised gang rape with up to life imprisonment and raised the age of consent from 16 to 18; critics noted that marital rape was left out |
| National Food Security Act, 2013 | Subsidised food grains through the targeted public distribution system |
| Mars Orbiter Mission | Launched November 2013; reached Mars orbit on 24 September 2014, making ISRO the fourth agency to do so and India the first to succeed on the first attempt |
How Did the Anti-Corruption Movement and the Lokpal Act Arise?
The second term was marked by corruption allegations: the 2G and 3G spectrum allocations (Comptroller and Auditor General report of 2010), the Commonwealth Games contracts, and the CAG’s 2012 report on coal block allocation, made when the coal portfolio was with Manmohan Singh, who had a clean reputation. In April 2011 the social worker Anna Hazare sat on a twelve-day fast in Delhi for a Lokpal, with the support of India Against Corruption, one of whose founders was Arvind Kejriwal. The government agreed to a joint drafting committee, which failed, and the bill it approved in July 2011 was rejected by the activists. Anna Hazare was arrested during a second fast, refused bail, and was freed as crowds gathered; at the end of August Parliament passed a resolution moved by Pranab Mukherjee promising a revised bill, and he broke his fast. The supporters then split, and Kejriwal and others formed the Aam Aadmi Party on 26 November 2012.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill was passed by both Houses in December 2013 and received assent on 1 January 2014 from President Pranab Mukherjee, who had been elected in 2012. The Act provides for a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states to inquire into corruption by public servants, with the Prime Minister within its jurisdiction subject to conditions, and ministers and MPs except for anything said or voted in Parliament. Critics noted that the Lokpal is not a constitutional body and that the judiciary is outside it. The movement can be compared with the JP movement in Indira Gandhi, 1966-77: Political Developments and Socio-Economic Policies, and it differed in being held in full media glare.
Why Did the UPA Lose in 2014?
In the 2014 election the positive achievements of the second term were overshadowed by corruption allegations. Farmers’ suicides continued despite the loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore announced in 2008, prices and unemployment hurt common people, and analysts spoke of a policy paralysis, with a falling rupee and a high fiscal deficit. As an analytical point, the welfare laws of 2005-13 changed the state’s relation to the citizen by creating legal entitlements to work, information, education and food, and these are a durable legacy, while the loss of 2014 came from the weak performance of the economy and the image of the government. The result is in NITI Aayog Announced 1 January 2015 Demonetisation 8 November 2016 2019 result…">The NDA Government, 2014-19.
Why Is This Topic Important?
- Welfare legislation Acts and years are frequent Prelims facts
- Telangana process Standard question on state formation
- Lokpal movement Dates and persons
What Came Next?
The next topic covers the NDA government of Narendra Modi from 2014 to 2019. Next topic: The NDA Government, 2014-19.
Key People and Terms
- UPA United Progressive Alliance
- NAC National Advisory Council chaired by Sonia Gandhi
- MGNREGA Rural employment guarantee scheme
- RTE Act Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
- Lokpal Anti-corruption ombudsman under the 2013 Act
- Mangalyaan The Mars Orbiter Mission
Exam Corner
Points to Remember
- Manmohan Singh: 22 May 2004 and 22 May 2009.
- RTI 2005; RTE 2009 (in force 1 April 2010).
- Nuclear deal signed October 2008; trust vote July 2008.
- Mumbai attack 26 November 2008.
- Lokpal assent 1 January 2014; Telangana state June 2014.
Do Not Confuse With
- NREGA and the National Rural Health Mission Employment guarantee versus health scheme
- Article 21A and RTE Act Constitutional right versus the 2009 law
- Lokpal Act and Anna Hazare’s bill Act of 2013 versus the draft demanded by the activists
Memory Hook
Work, information, school and food as rights, then a decade ends in scandal.
Mains Angle
Questions ask about UPA welfare policy and its politics. These points add depth.
- Rights-based laws Entitlements
- Foreign policy Nuclear deal
- Governance Scandals and policy paralysis
A Question You May Face
An original practice question, not a past paper question.
“Assess the welfare legislation and the governance problems of the UPA government of 2004-14.”
How to Answer
- Formation Common minimum programme.
- First term Rights-based laws.
- Second term Laws and scandals.
- Conclude Verdict of 2014.
GS Relevance
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Sonia Gandhi not become Prime Minister in 2004?
After the Congress-led UPA won the support to form the government, she declined the office, saying she was following her inner voice, and nominated Manmohan Singh, probably aware that the opposition would use her foreign origin, while she stayed Congress president and UPA chairperson.
What did the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act provide?
Started in 2006 and later named after Mahatma Gandhi, it guaranteed rural households 100 days of paid labour a year to tackle rural poverty, with one-third of the work earmarked for women, and was described as the largest welfare scheme of its kind.
What was the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement?
Begun in 2005 and declared in 2006, it gave India access to American nuclear fuel and technology in return for IAEA inspection of civil reactors, and was signed in October 2008 after approvals, ending the thirty-year American ban on nuclear trade.
How was Telangana created?
After KCR's fast in November 2009, the Centre announced the process in December 2009, the Srikrishna Commission reported in December 2010, Parliament passed the Telangana Bill in February 2014, and the state came into existence in June 2014.
What is the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act?
Passed in December 2013 and assented to on 1 January 2014, it provides for a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to inquire into corruption by public servants, including the Prime Minister subject to conditions, after the Anna Hazare movement of 2011.
PYQ Practice — Statement Analysis
1 The Right to Information Act was passed in 2005.
Information must be given within thirty days.
2 The Right to Education Act came into force on 1 April 2010.
It gave effect to Article 21A.
3 The Aam Aadmi Party was formed on 26 November 2012.
Arvind Kejriwal was a founder.
4 The Indo-US civil nuclear agreement was signed in 2005.
It was signed in October 2008.
5 Telangana state came into existence in June 2014.
The Act was passed in February 2014.
Related Topics
Browse the full Modern History index