How did PM Modi make saffron India in 12 years? What kind of strategy was there, which no one thought of before?

No big change comes without a well-thought-out strategy. Prime Minister in the last 12 years Narendra Modi The way it has given a completely new direction and a new identity to India is a case study in itself. When he took charge in 2014, the country was facing difficulties on not one but many fronts. Now in 2026, India has overtaken Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world and Modi is the Prime Minister for the third consecutive time, i.e. the longest serving elected Prime Minister of the country. So what was that game-changing strategy that never came to anyone’s mind before?

‘Public participation’ model: The biggest strategy to make every citizen a partner in development

The biggest and most successful strategy of the Modi government was the model of ‘public participation’. During the time of previous governments, development was considered to be the work of government machinery and bureaucracy. But Modi changed this game. If during Nehru’s time the model of development was ‘Government will run, people will benefit’, then Modi said – ‘Every citizen himself will have to become a development driver.’ In his Independence Day speech in 2022, he had clearly said that ‘Government-Driven Development’ will now have to be replaced by ‘Citizen-Driven Development’.

So how did this model work?

Taking forward ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, the government transformed every scheme into a ‘people’s movement’. For example:

• Swachh Bharat Mission: There was no government scheme just to build toilets. It was made a mass movement with the participation of celebrities, school children, RWAs, NGOs and common citizens. As a result, more than 10 crore toilets were built, the problem of open defecation almost ended. This success came not just from money, but from changing people’s thinking.
• Jal Shakti Abhiyaan: To save water, the government launched campaigns like ‘Catch the Rain’, where panchayats, community groups and local people themselves were involved in water storage and conservation.
• Digital Payments: How did India become the world leader in UPI? The government did not limit digital payments only to urban areas, but also made small grocery stores, vegetable vendors and auto vendors digital. Today, transactions worth more than Rs 300-314 lakh crore are done through UPI in the country, which is hundreds of times more than in previous years.
• From Cowin to DigiLocker: During Covid, more than 220 crore vaccine doses were administered through CoWin, which became a global model. At the same time, today more than 70 crore users are registered on DigiLocker and more than 850 crore documents are stored.
• Economy: Journey from ‘Fragile Five’ in 2014 to the world’s fourth largest economy in 2026

When Modi government came in 2014, the economy was at a growth rate of less than 5%. Investor anxiety, policy paralysis and major corruption scandals had frozen decision-making capacity. But today in 2026, the country is the world’s fastest growing large economy with a GDP growth of 7.7%.

How did the picture of India change from year to year?

First Term (2014-2019) – Foundation Laying Period

• 2014 (first year only): Jan Dhan Yojana was launched. Today more than 58 crore accounts have been opened, out of which more than 56% of the accounts are of women and 67% are in rural and semi-urban areas. This became the backbone of Director Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• 2015: The foundation of Digital India was laid. This was the first step towards ‘platform state’. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana was also started in the same year.
• 2016: Big shock- demonetization. This decision intensified the campaign against digital transactions and black money. In the same year, promoted entrepreneurship with Startup India.
• 2017: Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into force. Reforms that every previous government since the 1980s had failed to bring. With this, semi-separate markets of 30 states were merged into a single market.
• 2018: Ayushman Bharat created new dimensions. The world’s largest government health insurance scheme launched.
• 2019: Article 370 was removed. The unfinished work of political integration of India was completed.

Second term (2019-2024) – period of crisis and subsequent boom

• 2020: Food security was ensured for the poor under the Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana. More than 80 crore people were given free ration during Covid.
• 2021: Gati Shakti Yojana transformed infrastructure planning and execution.
• 2022: Agneepath Scheme made a big change in the methods of recruitment in the Army.
• 2023: women’s reservation The bill was passed, which will reserve seats for women in the Assemblies and Lok Sabha.
• 2024: in ayodhya Ram Mandir Got a grand construction done, which was completed after 500 years. In the Lok Sabha elections this year, BJP did not get majority with 240 seats, but with NDA, Modi became Prime Minister for the third time.

Third Term (2024-present) – A period of vigorous reforms

2025: Many big steps were taken throughout the year:

• Through GST 2.0, the tax system was simplified and compliance was made easier.
• The nuclear energy sector was opened for private participation through the Peace Bill.
• Agriculture Infrastructure Fund was doubled to Rs 2 lakh crore.
• In Operation Sindoor to curb Lal Syndrome (Maoism), Pakistan-based terrorism was now treated as an act of war.
• Development works were accelerated by taking structural action to neutralize Naxalism.

2026: The government did not lose momentum even in its 12th year:

• February 2026: Soon after the inauguration of the ‘Seva Teerth’ office, Modi took four major welfare decisions, including the PM Relief Scheme (free treatment up to Rs 1.5 lakh for accident victims), doubling the target of Lakhpati Didi to Rs 6 crore.
• May 2026: West Bengal joins Ayushman Bharat, now this scheme is running in all 36 states and union territories.
• June 2026: Cabinet approves highway upgrade projects worth Rs 15,900 crore, which will be more than 560 km long in Bihar, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. Besides, the foundation stone of development projects worth Rs 22,655 crore was laid and inaugurated in Gujarat, Daman and Lakshadweep.

Electoral Politics: Turning Point and New Strategy of 2024

The 2024 election results gave the biggest political lesson to the Modi government. BJP got 240 seats, which is much less than 2019 (303 seats). The simple meaning of defeat was – ‘Hindutva alone’ does not get votes. There was a price to be paid for ignoring fundamental concerns like employment, inflation and unemployment.

So what was the new strategy?

According to experts, Modi immediately changed the strategy. In the third term, the focus shifted back to the vision of ‘Developed India 2047’. That means now the development agenda has again come to the top and hence we saw a barrage of economic reforms in 2025 and 2026.

A new political culture: Government based on trust, not bureaucracy

Perhaps the biggest change of the Modi government has come in the administrative culture. Earlier bureaucracy was considered the engine of development, but now emphasis has been laid on trust of all. His argument is that big schemes will be successful only by creating trust in the eyes of the common man. That is why the government transferred the subsidy directly to the bank account through the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity. This resulted in savings of more than Rs 3.48 lakh crore and eliminated fake beneficiaries. Overall, more than Rs 49 lakh crore has been transferred directly into people’s accounts.

Global Power: Winning the World’s Respect through ‘Strategic Autonomy’ in Foreign Policy

The most popular and successful strategy in foreign policy has been – Strategic Autonomy. This means building relationships with everyone without being tied to any block politics.

It had three big pillars:

1. Multi-Alignment: Cooperated with America on Quad and defense technology, with Russia on defense and energy, and with Europe on trade and climate. Apart from this, despite competing with China, he gave priority to trade and maintained parallel relations with everyone.
2. Voice of the Global South: Modi made the Global South Summit the platform of ‘Voice of Global South’. During his presidency of G20, African Union got permanent membership in G20. India presented a big package of development and technology at the Johannesburg G20 Summit in 2025.
3. First Responder and Philanthropic Power (Soft Power): During Covid, more than 30 crore vaccine doses were sent to more than 100 countries under Vaccine Maitri. in nepal Earthquake India remained at the forefront in every crisis, from the evacuation of civilians during the Ukraine and Sudan conflicts. Under the Sagar Doctrine, India established itself as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean.

The result is that in 2025-26, when the other big economies of the world (Germany – 0.4%, Japan – 0.8%, Euro Area – 1.3%) were growing with difficulty, India remained at the forefront with a growth of 7.7%.

Security and Defence: A long journey from ‘Zero Tolerance’ to ‘Operation Sindoor’

Modi government made a big game change on the security front also. Their policy has changed from ‘zero tolerance’ to ‘pro-active deterrence’.

• Action on Naxalism: In 2013, there was Naxalite violence in 126 districts, by March 2025 it has come down to 0. The government’s target was to make India completely Naxal-free by March 31, 2026, which was achieved.
• Operation Sindoor: After the surgical strike by entering PoK in February 2025, Pakistan’s terrorists will be taught a tough lesson. operation vermilion Launched.
• Mission Sudarshan Chakra: Modi launched this mission in 2025, which dreams of turning India into a ‘Shield and Sword’ in terms of defense by 2035.
• Self-reliance and reorganization of the Ordnance Factory Board: Modi government has banned the import of 101 defense items to boost defense production. Today the demand for indigenous defense equipment has increased so much that the production forecast for the next few years has already been decided. Defense production for 2025-26 has crossed ₹1.54 lakh crore.

What is the real meaning of painting the country ‘saffron’?

Before BJP formed the central government, till 2014, there was BJP government in only 5 states. These include Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Nagaland. On the other hand, Congress had governments in 13 states. Soon after the landslide victory in the 2014 general elections, BJP won elections in 2 more states, Maharashtra and Haryana, taking its tally to 7 states.

In the year 2015, this figure increased to 13 states and by 2016, BJP had come to power in 15 states. Winning the Assam elections in 2016 was very important because it was the first BJP government in the northeastern states. By the end of 2017, BJP’s expansion became more rapid. With landslide victories in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the party’s tally of states increased to 19. After the formation of the government in Karnataka in 2018, this figure reached 21 states, which was the biggest expansion for BJP till date.

After changing governments in some states in the intervening years, the NDA came to power in 19 states and 2 union territories by winning the Delhi Assembly elections in 2025. Of these, BJP had its own Chief Ministers in 15 states.

The biggest political change of 2026 came when BJP won a landslide victory in West Bengal. This was a historic victory because a large and populous state like West Bengal had never come to BJP’s account before. With this victory, BJP came to power in 22 states of the country. This means that today more than two and a half thirds of the total states of the country are now under the control of BJP or its alliance. On the other hand, Congress and its allies are now limited to just 6 states.