NDA govt completes 11 years, releases report on India's transformation

Business Standard

3 hours ago

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government marked the completion of its 11 years in office on Monday by unveiling a 176-page 'comprehensive compendium' on India's transformation under the PM's 'visionary leadership' across 14 facets of policymaking, ranging from national security and foreign policy, infrastructure growth, healthcare, women's empowerment and social justice.
'PM Modi has brought the politics of development – Vikasvaad – into the mainstream, making it a focal point around which political discourse and policy action now revolves,' the booklet, released by the government's Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Monday morning, stated. The Modi-led 72-member Union Council of Ministers took oath on 9 June 2024.
In the afternoon, addressing a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s national headquarters in New Delhi, the party's national president J P Nadda, who is also a Union minister, said that proactive governance has been the hallmark of Modi's tenure as prime minister. He said Modi has confronted challenges head-on and taken 'bold decisions' earlier thought impossible, such as the 'abrogation of Article 370', the 2016 surgical strikes, the Balakot air strike and Operation Sindoor of 2025.
Nadda listed the banning of triple talaq, the Citizenship Amendment Act, demonetisation, one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies, ending the distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure, advancing the date for tabling the Union Budget from the 'colonial-era' 28 February to 1 February, and merging the rail budget with the Union Budget as other key decisions of the last 11 years.
Nadda said demonetisation, where people queued up to withdraw money without complaint despite the Opposition's intense efforts to provoke them, was evidence of the PM's leadership credibility. In the context of the BJP falling short of a majority by 32 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and for the first time since 2014 having to rely on allies to secure a majority, with Opposition leaders questioning the government's longevity, the BJP chief expressed confidence that the NDA government will complete its tenure and asserted it will last the next full term too. 'Our government is strong. It will last for five years in this term and the next too,' he said.
The booklet stated that 'the success of Operation Sindoor demonstrated a new India: resolute, swift and sovereign in action.' It added that a dynamic foreign and national security policy is essential to respond to global opportunities and challenges, and the Modi government has consistently ensured a stable, strong and safe nation.
It listed vibrant India-US relations as a foreign policy success, terming it 'Modi's adaptive strategy with the US'. India has emerged as an economic powerhouse, the booklet said, with the government creating a base for 'growthade' through infrastructure expansion, such as the development of National Highways. The government said it has been a votary of cooperative federalism by encouraging states to voluntarily undertake reforms through incentives. It mentioned all-time high GST collections in April 2025.
The booklet detailed government measures for the welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and women in schemes such as the Mudra Yojana and PM Awas Yojana (Rural). It said 810 million people continue to receive food security. It also stated there is the 'highest ever representation for SCs, STs and OBCs in the Union Council of Ministers.' Welfare schemes like Mission Poshan have helped improve the sex ratio at birth, now for the first time at 1,020 women per 1,000 men.
At his press conference, Nadda said the Indian economy continues to grow amid global challenges, with international bodies such as the World Bank and IMF calling it a bright spot. He said lifting over 250 million people out of poverty has been acknowledged globally. Nadda dismissed Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's criticism of Modi for not addressing a press conference on the government's anniversary. The Union minister questioned why it was an issue when the ruling party's president had spoken to the media. He also criticised Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's questioning of the Election Commission and the fairness of Maharashtra assembly polls, describing him as a sore loser who blames the umpire for defeat while claiming credit in victory.
The Congress released two booklets on Monday highlighting stagnated growth, rising hunger, and 'unfulfilled promises' of 11 years under Modi. At a press conference in New Delhi, Congress research department head M V Rajeev Gowda released Ek Aur Baar Jumla Sarkar and 11 Saal, Jhoothe Vikaas ke vaade. He said the first booklet examines BJP's 2024 manifesto promises, and the second is a 'detailed exposé' of the party's 'hollow promises'.
'In the 11-Saal document, one of the first themes they (BJP) highlight is taking care of the poor and marginalised. They are pleased that 810 million people get free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY). But the basic problem of hunger is a much larger crisis in India, placing us 105th out of 127 countries on the World Hunger Index. Its implications: malnutrition is affecting our children severely, crippling growth. Stunting is at 35.5 per cent; wasting at 19.3 per cent; underweight at 32.1 per cent,' Gowda said. The Congress leader also alleged the Centre's claim in the PIB booklet that India added over 5,000 defence items to the indigenisation list was false. 'Sadly, 40 per cent of the items listed for indigenisation have not been indigenised. India remains one of the top defence importers rather than a producer and exporter. Of 'mission mode DRDO projects', 23 out of 55 are delayed, and the R&D share in our defence budget is only 5.45 per cent,' he added.
He also disputed the claim that India was the fastest-growing large economy. 'So, what is happening in this 11th year of your Sarkaar, PM Modi? The response of the private sector reflects this. Is the Indian private sector investing in India? After the bonanza tax cut, nothing has changed. They still lack confidence in economic management to invest,' the Congress leader said.
He added that fixed capital formation has dropped to 32.4 per cent, an 11-year low.
'There is another legacy: glaring inequality. The top 1 per cent of people hold 40 per cent of India's wealth, while the bottom 50 per cent have just over 3 per cent,' the former Congress MP said, adding that this is not the economy the country wants.