As early as 1949, Deendayal Upadhyaya articulated the need for “economic, social, cultural as well as spiritual freedom". Within each of these dimensions, he envisioned the fulfilment of freedom and selfhood. No dimension could be overlooked in his schema for national rejuvenation through integral growth and progress. Over the past eleven years, under Narendra Modi’s leadership, each of these dimensions has received significant focus and innovative action. It is pertinent to briefly examine some of these.

Financial Inclusion: Financial inclusion has broadened and reinforced economic freedom, achieving unprecedented reach and impact in the last eleven years. This is manifested in the flagship Jan Dhan scheme and is evident in the 250 million people lifted out of multidimensional poverty over the past decade. In its Spring 2025 World Bank’s Poverty and Equity Brief, a global poverty update, the World Bank noted a significant decline in extreme poverty in India over the past decade. This sharp decline, from 27.1% to 5.3%, has lifted 171 million people out of extreme poverty. These are definitive indicators of enhanced economic freedom. India’s surpassing of Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy further signifies India’s resolute progress towards deepening its economic freedom, marking a decisive milestone in realising this vision.

Social Freedom: The transformative Aspirational District Programme (ADP) exemplifies social freedom. It has accelerated development in India’s most backward districts, fostering social inclusion and mainstreaming the most marginalised within these........

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