Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has undergone a remarkable transformation, emerging as the world’s fastest-growing major economy and overtaking Japan to become the fourth-largest economy globally. This ascent reflects a combination of bold policy reforms, strategic economic initiatives and a vision to position India as a global economic powerhouse.

With high GDP growth rates, structural reforms, and increasing global influence, India’s economic trajectory under Modi’s leadership has captured the world’s attention.

When Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, India’s economy faced significant challenges. The growth rate had slowed down abysmally, inflation was high and the fiscal deficit was a pressing concern. Bureaucratic inefficiencies, policy paralysis and a lack of investor confidence plagued the economy. The global perception of India was that of an underperforming, lethargic and lazy giant, hindered by red tape, corruption and infrastructural bottlenecks.

PM Modi, with his ‘Reform, Perform, Transform’ mantra, set out to address these challenges through a series of ambitious reforms aimed at unlocking India’s economic potential. The focus was on fostering inclusive growth, improving ease of doing business, and leveraging India’s demographic dividend to drive sustainable development. Over the past decade, these efforts have yielded highly impressive results, propelling India to the forefront of global economic growth.

The Modi government introduced transformative reforms to streamline India’s economy to make it more competitive. Some of the most impactful initiatives include: Goods and Services Tax (GST), implemented in 2017. GST revenue in April 2025 stood at a massive Rs 2.37 lakh crore, a 12.6% growth year on year (YoY). GST replaced a complex web of indirect taxes with a unified tax system, creating a single national market. This reform boosted tax compliance, reduced logistical costs and enhanced the ease of doing business (EOEB) across states.

Similarly, launched in 2014, the Make in India initiative aimed to transform India into a global manufacturing hub. By offering incentives, simplifying regulations and improving infrastructure, Make in India attracted significant foreign direct investment (FDI) in sectors like electronics, automobiles and defence manufacturing.

Again, the Digital India campaign revolutionised access to technology and digital services. Initiatives like Aadhaar, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and widespread internet penetration have digitised financial transactions, empowered small businesses. UPI, in particular, has made India a global leader in digital payments, with billions of transactions processed monthly. India accounts for over 46% of the digital global financial transactions, with roughly 18 billion UPI trades worth over Rs 24 lakh crore taking place every single month in India.

Again, introduced in 2016, the IBC streamlined the resolution of distressed assets, improving........

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