From Gujarat To Global Stage: PM Modi At 75 And India's Journey Of Innovation, Governance And Security

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 75 today. Born on September 17, 1950 at Mehsana town in Gujarat, he served as the Chief Minister of the state for three consecutive terms between 2001 and 2014.

He is now the Prime Minister for the third term after first being elected in 2014. On his birthday, PM Modi, in the past, has spent time interacting with citizens, launching welfare schemes, or taking part in public initiatives. He has never hosted personal celebrations. However, the BJP, like every year, has launched the 'Sewa Pakhwara' to mark the PM's birthday to showcase his commitment to the welfare of citizens.

Today, PM Modi is in Madhya Pradesh, where he will launch the 'Swasth Nari Sashakt Parivar' and '8th Rashtriya Poshan Maah' campaigns. This is the largest ever health outreach for women and children in the country.

PM Modi is admired for a variety of reasons, and one of them is his immense respect for India's culture and heritage. He is also known for his drive for innovation for the future of the nation.

The PM's integral dream for a Viksit Bharat in 2047 is driven by championing innovation as the cornerstone of India's journey. Under his leadership, the country is witnessing an evolution from a technology consumer to a global leader, especially when it comes to innovation. This vision is enabling the Indian researchers, institutions, and startups to contribute to future technologies.

Since taking over as Prime Minister in 2014, PM Modi has given plenty of emphasis on governance. To make it more efficient, his government has relied heavily on technology. Digitally empowered systems and policy-making driven by data are what drive governance today. It has become more effective and has managed to cut inefficiency, red tape, and delays. Before PM Modi came to power, there were complaints about state delivery services being caught in a web of delays and red tape.

The PM has instructed officials to remove all bottlenecks and replace outdated governance with a citizen-centric solution. He has often emphasised the need to use technology to the maximum to provide better governance. The use of technology has been acknowledged by tech giants across the world. Tesla boss, Elon Musk, had once said,“I am a fan of PM Modi.”

One of the biggest changes that the country has witnessed under PM Modi is the way the nation makes its payments. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been a huge success and has made the lives of millions easier. The success could be measured when one looks at the data for June 2025. That month, UPI processed over Rs 24.03 lakh crore in transactions.

His leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic was hugely appreciated not just by Indians but by world leaders as well. Once again, the PM emphasised on technology during those hard times. The CoWIN platform emerged as the benchmark for vaccines. Thanks to this portal, the process was smooth, and over 950 million citizens were administered with vaccines.

PM Modi has also been pushing for semiconductor initiatives. He has stressed the need to reduce reliance on imports and become self-sufficient. With many initiatives being rolled out, India's semiconductor market is projected to reach USD 110 billion by 2030. In August 2025, the government approved four more semiconductor units with an outlay of Rs 4,600 crore. This took the total to ten such projects, and these would be spread across six states and would strengthen India's position in the global semiconductor market. The PM had said that semiconductors are digital diamonds of the modern age.

During his campaign in the 2014 election, while speaking about growth, innovation, governance, and technology, he laid immense emphasis on security. Those were the days when India witnessed blasts quite frequently. Groups such as the Indian Mujahideen carried out operations with ease.

However, under PM Modi, the security agencies were given a free hand and told strictly that he believes in a zero-tolerance policy towards terror. Groups such as the Indian Mujahideen were wiped out. The number of blasts almost came down to zero.

Under his leadership, it was also decided to take the fight up to the Naxalites. The first emphasis was on tracing the funding and blocking it. Heavy emphasis was given to infrastructure development in naxal-hit areas. This included the development of roads and communication. When the people began reaping the benefits, they stopped helping the Naxalites.

The security forces also benefited from these initiatives, which in turn helped them take the fight up to the Naxalites more effectively. Further, the Modi government ensured that there was proper coordination between the central and state agencies. This also added to the success in the battle, and India is set to be naxal-free by March 2026.

Another tough stand taken was the abrogation of Article 370. It was important in terms of security, development, and integration. While the article was abrogated, PM Modi, along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, ensured that peace remained in Jammu and Kashmir. It was finally achieved, and the result was improved tourism, no stone pelting, development, and, more importantly, the end of separatism.

Post the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, questions were raised about the lack of action against Pakistan. However, under PM Modi's leadership, India carried out a surgical strike post the Uri attack. Post the Pulwama attack, the Balakot air strike was carried out on a Jaish-e-Mohammed facility. This time, the Indian Air Force entered Pakistan's airspace and hit the facility.

Post the Pahalgam attack, the response came in the form of Operation Sindoor. India hit targets both in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as well as Pakistan. In a 30-minute operation, the Indian armed forces took down targets that included the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the main training facility of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The operation also blew up a large part of Masood Azhar's family.

Under his leadership, India has taken giant leaps in terms of technology, governance, and innovation.

As one officer had put it following the Balakot airstrike.“The Research and Analysis Wing had mapped the facility 16 years back, but it required guts to hit it.”

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