25 years of Narendra Modi: A journey of service and solutions

In October 2001, Narendra Modi entered the national political consciousness as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Twenty-five years later, after serving Gujarat and then leading India as Prime Minister since May 2014, his public journey can be viewed through a simple but powerful question: what does governance mean to the ordinary citizen who has waited for generations for the most basic necessities of life?The journey continues under the guiding principle of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.For a poor family, development is not a statistic. It is the first light in a home that earlier had no electricity. It is a tap bringing drinking water to the doorstep. It is a gas cylinder that changes the daily life of a woman who spent years cooking over smoke. It is a toilet that restores privacy and dignity. It is a bank account that connects a family directly with the formal economy. It is a house that provides security, or healthcare that prevents a medical emergency from becoming a financial catastrophe.This has been one of the defining themes of the Modi years: problems that had existed for decades should not be treated as permanent merely because they are old.The effort has been to take long-standing challenges and address them through programmes designed for scale. Jan Dhan sought to bring the unbanked into the formal financial system. Ujjwala sought to provide clean cooking fuel to women from poorer households. Swachh Bharat placed sanitation at the centre of public policy and public participation. Housing programmes sought to provide families with the dignity and security of a permanent home. Electrification initiatives focused on bringing electricity to households that had remained without reliable access. Jal Jeevan Mission has sought to extend piped drinking water to rural homes.The philosophy behind these initiatives can be expressed simply: the poor should not merely receive promises; they should receive access, opportunity and dignity.Healthcare has been another important area. Ayushman Bharat sought to protect eligible vulnerable families from the financial burden of major medical treatment, while the expansion of health infrastructure and preventive healthcare has sought to strengthen access to healthcare for ordinary citizens.Technology has further changed the delivery of welfare. Direct Benefit Transfer and digital public infrastructure have enabled government assistance to reach beneficiaries more directly. India’s digital payments ecosystem has demonstrated how technology can become an instrument of inclusion and opportunity.The development agenda has also extended beyond welfare. Roads, railways, airports, ports, broadband connectivity and other infrastructure have strengthened the foundations for economic growth. Initiatives supporting entrepreneurship, manufacturing and small businesses reflect the broader objective of creating opportunities through which people can earn, build and prosper.There is, naturally, continuing public debate about the implementation and outcomes of individual programmes. In a democracy, governments must remain accountable and citizens must ultimately assess their performance.Yet the larger significance of twenty-five years lies in the persistence of a particular approach: identify a problem, bring it into the national policy framework, deploy administrative capacity and technology, and attempt to take the solution to the last mile.The story, therefore, is not simply about twenty-five years in office. It is about a promise to change the meaning of governance for the common citizen.For generations, crores of Indians were told that certain difficulties were inevitable—that poverty, inadequate housing, lack of sanitation, poor connectivity or limited access to basic services were simply part of life. The aspiration behind the new approach has been different: if a problem affects the dignity and opportunity of ordinary citizens, it deserves a solution.That is perhaps the most enduring way to look at twenty-five years of Narendra Modi’s public life—from Gujarat in 2001 to the leadership of India from 2014 onward.Because ultimately, the measure of governance is not only found in government buildings or policy documents. It is found in the life of the last citizen standing at the end of the queue—and government efforts in finally reaching him.The journey continues under the guiding principle of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas.Sidharth Nath Singh is Prayagraj MLA and a former UP cabinet minister.