The most common refrain from retailers these days is, “Don’t have change. Please pay through UPI”. And the amount is settled in real time, sometimes in a fraction of a second. And here lies a tale that transformed lives of billions of Indians though a single government initiative called Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Now one can pay anything from Rs 1 upwards to Rs 1 lakh in a day using UPI. This has revolutionized digital payments by enabling instant transfers between bank accounts using only a mobile phone, negating the need for wallets or credit cards.
No wonder Indians are making 44.3 crore UPI transactions a day averaging daily transactional value of Rs 65933 crore, according to UPI’s parent body National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) which claims that its digital infrastructure can support up to 100 crore transactions every day. That UPI has been adopted by 12 countries and its technology has been sought by nine others, demonstrates the extent of its success. This demonstrates a deliberate strategy to project India’s soft power and leadership, particularly in areas like digital public goods and sustainable development, positioning the nation as a credible and value-driven technology partner on the world stage.
UPI is just one of the myriad steps taken up by the Modi government since it came to power 11 years ago. Today, as it completes 11 years in office, we bring about 11 initiatives that transformed lives of common man in India. Although, it’s been 11 years since he first took office as India’s Prime Minister; he completed 11 years on May 26, 2025. His third government was sworn in on June 9, 2024. This term is historic in many ways. The 11-year tenure, has been defined by a resolute emphasis on “Vikasvaad,” or the politics of development.
BANKING FOR ALL
This government for the first time, understood the importance of taking small steps that had far reaching benefits to the masses. By allowing self-attestation of documents to students, it saved their billions of precious hours earlier spent in chasing gazetted officers. Similarly, by bringing in almost every India in the ambit of banking through Jan Dhan Scheme (53 crore new bank accounts opened), the government could put money directly into their bank accounts (Direct Benefit Transfer – DBT). This has so far saved Rs 3.48 lakh crore by plugging leakages in welfare delivery, substantially enhancing the efficiency of public spending.
The innovation of Jan Dhan Yojana lies in its “no-frills” approach, offering zero-balance accounts, a free RuPay debit card with an in-built accident insurance cover of ₹2 lakh, and an overdraft facility of up to ₹10,000. This initiative made financial inclusion a tangible reality for millions, particularly reaching the “Antyoday” – the poorest of the poor.
GIVING WINGS TO PEOPLE
The Centre’s emphasis on strengthening infrastructure has seen construction of airports even in tier two towns, laying of new railway lines, starting new trains including high speed ones like Vande Bharat, Tejas Express and Gatiman Express besides of course constructing new shipping ports and highways and expressways. Who would have thought of reaching Ayodhya from a Haryana town like Hisar in hour and a half by air? Or from Delhi to Srinagar by train in just 15 hours? Or from Delhi to Dehradun by road in two and a half hours. The road to progress of a country of course, lies on a robust infrastructure.
MAKING RURAL LIFE EASIER
The government has made life easier for people in rural areas by providing them clean cooking fuel through Ujjawala Yojana, clean tap water through Jal Jeevan Mission, and sanitation through Swachh Bharat Mission. Constructing 12 crore toilets, 10 crore LPG connections, 19 crore tap connections, 4 crore pucca houses, free health services to 9 crore people and free ration to 80 crore people doesn’t come easy. But, these steps have certainly improved lives of crores of people across India. Launched on October 2, 2014, to honour Mahatma Gandhi’s 145th birth anniversary, the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) aimed to make India a clean country and achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status. The mission has dramatically transformed India’s sanitation landscape, leading to the construction of 12 crore toilets.
WOMEN’S DIGNITY PROTECTED
All urban areas, with the exception of one Urban Local Body in West Bengal, have been declared ODF, a feat achieved through the construction of 66.86 lakh individual household toilets and 6.40 lakh community/public toilets. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), launched on May 1, 2016, aimed to provide clean cooking fuel in the form of LPG connections to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families at subsidized rates. Over 10 crore families have gained access to LPG connections under the scheme, benefiting approximately 36 crore people.
PROVIDING CLEAN WATER
Till 2019, almost 80% of rural households lacked piped water supply. PM Modi started his second stint in 2019 by vowing to provide clean drinking water to all rural households by 2024, a deadline later extended to 2028. The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to cover 19 crore rural families, with a particular focus on delivering potable water to quality-affected and drought-prone areas. JJM has directly created about 5.99 million person-years of jobs and indirectly generated about 22.25 million person-years of employment, boosting community empowerment with 2.4 million women trained in water management.
FREE MEDICAL INSURANCE
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), which provides medical insurance coverage for 1,574 procedures across 27 specialties with nationwide portability, and the Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs). The impact on common Indians has been transformative, with over 9 crore people, including senior citizens above 70 years of age, receiving free treatment under Ayushman Bharat. This has effectively prevented them from incurring catastrophic health expenditures and falling into financial instability due to medical bills. The scheme is a lifeline for the economically marginalized who can also purchase medicines from more than 16,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras at 50 to 90 per cent less cost than from private chemists and pharmacies.
COLLATERAL FREE LOANS
The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), a flagship program launched on April 8, 2015, was conceived to “Fund the Unfunded” micro-enterprises and small businesses across India. Its core innovation lies in democratizing access to easy, collateral-free credit for millions of small entrepreneurs who traditionally faced significant barriers to formal finance due to a lack of collateral or formal financial history. PMMY has sanctioned over 52 crore loans worth Rs 32.61 lakh crore. A critical achievement is that 68% of all Mudra beneficiaries are women, and 50% are from SC, ST, and OBC categories, significantly advancing women-led enterprises and financial inclusion for socially marginalized groups.
SUPPORT TO FARMERS
Farm sector is in distress. That’s why Modi Government provided a direct financial benefit of Rs 6,000 per year, transferred in three equal instalments. This farmer-centric digital infrastructure ensures absolute transparency and timely disbursements, effectively eliminating the involvement of any middlemen. Over Rs 3.46 lakh crore has been disbursed in 18 instalments since the scheme’s inception, benefiting 9.59 crore farmers in the 18th instalment alone. This highlights a policy that functions not just as an agricultural subsidy but also as a significant social safety net.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROMOTED
loans ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore were provided for setting up greenfield enterprises in manufacturing, services, or trading sectors under Start Up India and Stand Up India schemes. The combined innovation of these initiatives lies in their creation of a supportive ecosystem through financial assistance, mentorship, capacity building, and extensive outreach programs, fostering inclusive growth by actively targeting underrepresented communities. Over 1.6 lakh startups were launched creating over 16.6 lakh direct jobs.
MONEY COMES FROM SUNLIGHT
Launched on February 13, 2024, the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijlee Yojana (PMSGMBY) aims to provide free electricity to households by facilitating the installation of rooftop solar panels. This initiative is envisioned as the world’s largest domestic rooftop solar program, with an ambitious target to supply solar power to one crore households by March 2027. The scheme’s innovation lies in offering a substantial subsidy of up to 40% and direct Central Financial Assistance (CFA) averaging around ₹77,800 per household, making renewable energy significantly more affordable and accessible to common households. As of January 2025, 8.46 lakh households have already benefited, with monthly installation rates increasing tenfold, indicating rapid adoption.
REMOVING MIDDLEMEN
The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, introduced in 2013 was scaled post-2014 to streamline welfare delivery by directly transferring subsidies to beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Subsidy allocations as a percentage of total government expenditure have halved from 16% to 9%, while beneficiary coverage surged 16-fold from 11 crore to 176 crore because of DBT of food subsidies, wage transfers under MGNREGS and PM-KISAN.
ECONOMY AND STRATEGIC STRENGTH
the country’s economy was at the 11th position in 2014. Today, it’s at the fourth spot and will soon be at the thirdVery soon, India’s economy will touch five trillion dollars. During past 11 years we have strengthened our economy and military alike. That’s why every time Pakistan indulges in misadventures in India through its proxies, we give it back in resounding manner. We did surgical strike in response to Uri incident and struck across the border at Balakot after Pak-sponsored militants struck at CRPF convoy at Pulwama. This year, they killed 26 tourists at Pahalgam. India struck back on the night of May 6th annihilating nine terrorist camps located on Pakistani soil.
