The summer of 2014 brought Narendra Modi into office as the Indian prime minister after his victory in an electoral landslide. He was Bharatiya Janta Party’s (BJP) candidate for the post, often drawing on his time as the Gujrat Chief Minister. It was Modi who led an electoral campaign centered on reforming governance and reviving the economy. BJP announced early on that it would transform India into a “leading power” after his election, and it was clear that he would actively engage with the world to propel India towards the leadership role.
The Modi government has now completed more than three-fourths of the 10-year period it had requested to transform the country after Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. The candidate positioned himself brilliantly as a man of action and a clean politician. He promised the nation “good days” (अच्छे दिन) with faster economic growth, and 10 million jobs per year. He also promised to eliminate politically-connected bank loans, get the government out of business, and put an end to the dynasties. The Gujrat model would be taken nationwide, center-state relationships would be formed, and agriculture would be improved to yield more crops per drop. It has been a well-oiled electoral machine since Modi became prime minister on May 26, 2014. The party won state elections after state elections and has dominated the national discourse as no other party has in recent years. Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, a financial inclusion program open to all Indian citizens, just after taking power in August 2014. On 16 October 2014, a plan aimed at promoting labor rights was introduced by Shramew Jayate Yojana, with its goal of providing low-cost financial services such as bank accounts without maintenance, remittances, insurance services, bank accounts, credit, and pensions. As part of the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday in October 2014, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (“Clean India”) campaign was launched to promote sanitation as an ongoing health concern. Waste management practices were improved, and open defecation was eliminated.
Over 100 crore (1 billion) doses of COVID vaccine were administered to eligible adults in India during the Covid-19 pandemic within nine months of the vaccination drive. With its own Covid-19 vaccines — Covidshield and Covaxin — India has set an iconic standard for vaccine development. More than 100 nations, including Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, have benefited from Indian vaccines. There were Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) Insurance Schemes, Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojanas, and Pradhan Mantri e-Shram Portals in 2021. For health workers fighting the pandemic, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PGKP) Insurance Scheme was extended in June 2021. By preparing the health system to address all aspects of COVID-19 management, the Centre took proactive and preemptive measures to respond to the pandemic.
Modi’s government has completed several key tasks since returning to power in 2019. India appears to have put the brunt of the pandemic behind it, but there have been multiple challenges ahead domestically and internationally.
With the National Democratic Alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, eight years have passed. As a result, comparisons are already being made with the government running under Dr. Manmohan Singh, especially on inflation, given the recent alarming uptick in trends caused by the Russian-Ukraine crisis, as well as recent COVID-induced lockdowns in China. The government’s role in enabling the rural population must be taken into account when evaluating the Modi regime beyond recent short-term economic shocks.
