On September 17, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 75. It marks his 11th year as the head of the Indian government and the beginning of his third consecutive term — a feat only matched in India’s history by Jawaharlal Nehru. Modi’s journey, from a tea-seller in Gujarat to the most dominant leader of 21st-century India, has reshaped the country’s politics, society, and global standing.

But with such dominance comes a complex legacy. His tenure can neither be reduced to populist welfare schemes nor dismissed as mere majoritarian politics. It is a story of transformation and turbulence, of a leader who promised to be an outsider to Delhi’s elite but now represents the very core of India’s establishment. On his birthday, it is fitting to examine the good, the bad, and the ugly of Narendra Modi’s three terms — and how they have impacted the nation.

The Outsider Who Became the Establishment

When Narendra Modi ascended to power in 2014, he projected himself as a man of the masses — a chaiwala’s son, an RSS pracharak, and someone untainted by the Lutyens’ elite. His Red Fort address that year set the tone: he lamented disunity within government and vowed to dismantle silos.

Within months, his administration introduced sweeping changes: replacing the Planning Commission with NITI Aayog, merging the Railway Budget with the Union Budget, and setting in motion what he called “minimum government, maximum governance.”

Politically, Modi broke the era of coalition compulsions that had defined Indian politics since the 1990s. The BJP under him secured a single-party majority in 2014, repeated it in 2019 with an even bigger mandate, and though the 2024 elections returned a slimmer majority, his stature ensured the NDA regrouped around him.

Today, Modi is no longer the outsider. He is the establishment itself — a leader whose persona towers over institutions, whose image drives both policy and politics, and whose story of humble origins continues to shape his connect with the masses.

The Good: Governance, Welfare, and Global Stature

Welfare Schemes and Ease of Living

If there is one arena where Modi has left a visible imprint, it is welfare. His flagship schemes have penetrated the daily lives of millions:

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY): Over 56 crore bank accounts opened, enabling Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) and reducing leakage.

• Ujjwala Yojana: More than 10.3 crore women given free LPG connections, reducing dependence on biomass.

• PM Awas Yojana: Nearly 5 crore pucca houses sanctioned across rural and urban India.

• Ayushman Bharat: The world’s largest health insurance scheme, covering 42 crore beneficiaries with ₹5 lakh per family annually.

• PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY): Free food grains to 80 crore people, expanded during COVID and now extended till 2029.

Together, these schemes created what BJP leaders call a class of labharthis (beneficiaries) — a political constituency that feels directly connected to Modi’s hand.

Digital Public Infrastructure

Perhaps Modi’s most transformative legacy is India’s digital revolution. Aadhaar, Jan Dhan, and Mobile — the JAM trinity — laid the foundation for UPI, now the world’s largest real-time payments system with over 20 billion monthly transactions. Platforms like DigiLocker, CoWIN, and DBT systems have made India a model for digital governance.

The rise of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is not just an Indian story. It is being replicated in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, with Modi positioning India as the world’s fintech laboratory.

Infrastructure and Energy

India’s highways expanded two-and-a-half times since 2014, with expressways like Delhi-Mumbai, Purvanchal, and Dwarka ensuring regional connectivity. FASTag made tolling seamless, while Jal Jeevan Mission has delivered tap water to 15.7 crore rural homes, reducing drudgery for women.

The PM Surya Ghar rooftop solar scheme, launched in 2024, is already powering 20 lakh homes, aiming to reach 1 crore by 2026. India now has more than 50% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels, underscoring Modi’s climate push.

Defence and Foreign Policy

On defence, Modi is credited with modernizing capabilities: inducting Rafale fighter jets, commissioning INS Vikrant, and expanding FDI in defence production. His government rolled out the Agnipath scheme and repeatedly asserted strategic autonomy — most visibly through surgical strikes, the Balakot airstrikes, and Operation Sindoor against Pakistan-backed terror.

Foreign policy, too, has been recast. From inviting SAARC leaders in 2014 to presiding over the G20 Summit in 2023, Modi positioned India as a voice of the Global South. His “diaspora diplomacy” saw packed stadiums in New York, London, and Sydney. Vaccine Maitri during COVID projected India as both compassionate and capable.

Economy and Reform

From being part of the “fragile five” in 2013, India is now the world’s fourth-largest economy, on track to become third. Key reforms included:

• GST rollout (2017): “One nation, one tax” streamlined indirect taxation.

• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC): Helped resolve bad loans, reducing NPAs to 2.6% in 2025.

• Corporate tax cuts (2019): Brought India’s rates among the lowest in Asia.

Critics note job creation has lagged, but macroeconomic stability, inflation control, and India’s emergence as a startup hub (over 100 unicorns) remain Modi-era milestones.

The Bad: Centralization, Cult Politics, and Economic Faultlines

A Presidential Prime Minister

Modi’s leadership style is highly centralised. By sidelining veterans and controlling every lever of the BJP, he centralised authority in a way India hasn’t seen since Indira Gandhi. Decision-making is concentrated in the PMO, with cabinet ministers often seen as executors rather than policymakers. BJP veterans like L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were sidelined; coalition allies — Shiv Sena, TDP, JD(U), Akali Dal — either left or were diminished. The party that once prided itself on internal debate became dependent on one man’s image.

This high-command culture has ensured speed but weakened federal dialogue. States like Kerala, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu frequently accuse the Centre of overreach, while institutions — from the Election Commission to investigative agencies — are often accused of bending to executive pressure.

Economic Contradictions

While GDP growth remains robust, the jobs question haunts Modi’s record. Unemployment among youth is high, agriculture continues to employ nearly 45% of Indians but contributes less than 20% to GDP, and the 2020–21 farmers’ protest forced the repeal of controversial farm laws.

Demonetisation (2016), billed as a strike on black money, is widely criticised for its economic disruption, with RBI data later revealing 99% of demonetised currency returned to banks.

Meanwhile, inequality has grown. Reports suggest the top 10% of Indians now own more than 77% of wealth. For critics, Modi’s India is a story of billionaires soaring while ordinary workers face precarity.

Populism and rebranding

Modi is a master of political branding. From Acche Din in 2014 to Main Bhi Chowkidar in 2019, and Modi Ka Parivar in 2024, he continuously reinvents his political identity. This ability to craft narratives — hard work vs Harvard, kamdar vs naamdar — has sustained his mass appeal. But it has also entrenched populism in Indian politics, where spectacle often outweighs substance.

Polarization and Social Strains

The BJP’s consolidation of the Hindu vote through issues like Ram Mandir, Article 370 abrogation, and triple talaq ban has cemented support but deepened divisions. The 2020 Delhi riots, lynchings in the name of cow protection, and the Citizenship Amendment Act protests highlighted the growing communal cleavages.

Even as Modi insists his biggest “castes” are the poor, youth, women, and farmers, minorities — especially Muslims — often feel marginalized. International watchdogs have flagged India’s declining democratic freedoms, with Freedom House rating India as “partly free.”

Coalition breakup

Coalition politics, once the lifeblood of Indian democracy, weakened as allies like TDP, JD(U), and Shiv Sena exited the NDA, leaving the BJP increasingly isolated yet dominant. Dissent within the party has shrunk, replaced by a personality cult where Modi’s image eclipses all.

The Ugly: Gujarat’s Shadow and Polarisation Politics

Gujarat 2002 and the communal question

No account of Modi’s career can ignore 2002. As Gujarat’s chief minister, he presided over one of India’s worst communal riots, where over a thousand lives were lost. Courts cleared him of direct wrongdoing, but questions about his government’s role persist. For his critics, 2002 remains the original sin of Modi’s politics.

Erosion of Democracy

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the Modi era is the erosion of democratic norms. Dissent is often branded “anti-national.” Journalists, activists, and opposition leaders face charges ranging from sedition to money laundering. The arrests of opposition leaders ahead of elections have raised concerns about a level playing field. Civil society voices and journalists complain of shrinking space for dissent, from raids on NGOs to pressure on media outlets. International watchdogs have flagged India’s decline in press freedom and democratic indices. Supporters hail this as decisive leadership; critics call it democratic backsliding.

Meanwhile, the cult of personality is unprecedented. From government schemes prefixed with “PM,” to Modi’s face on vaccine certificates, to the choreographed images of him meditating in Kedarnath or flying in fighter jets — Modi is both policy and product.

Parliamentary debate has shrunk, with major laws — farm bills, Article 370, criminal code reforms — passed with minimal consultation. The judiciary, while occasionally assertive, is often accused of deference.

The politics of polarization

At the national level, his brand of politics has deepened polarization. Under Modi, Hindu identity has become central to political discourse, with minorities often feeling excluded or insecure. The narrative of India as a Hindu-first nation has won the BJP massive electoral dividends but at the cost, many argue, of eroding secular values.

Modi’s India in 2025: A Nation Transformed, A Debate Unresolved

Eleven years on, India under Modi is undeniably different:

• Politically, the BJP is a pan-India party with dominance unseen since the Congress of the 1970s.

• Economically, India is more formalized, digital, and globally integrated.

• Socially, it is more assertive in its Hindu identity, but also more polarized.

• Institutionally, it is stronger in delivery, weaker in autonomy.

Modi’s three terms have given India both hope and fear, progress and polarisation, pride and unease. His ability to continuously reinvent himself, connect with the masses, and dominate the political landscape has made him an indomitable force.

The final judgment on Modi’s legacy will depend not just on the policies he pushed, but on the India he leaves behind — one that is more prosperous and powerful, or one more divided and fragile.

For now, on his 75th birthday, Narendra Modi remains the most consequential leader of 21st-century India — embodying the good, the bad, and the ugly of its democracy.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Vygr’s views.

With inputs from agencies

Image Source: Multiple agencies

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