By Colonel Dev Anand Lohamaror
Security & International Affairs Expert
As of June 2026, looking back to when Narendra Modi took oath as the 14th Prime Prime Minister of Bharat on 26 May 2014, a profound milestone has been reached. Twelve years later, he has become Bharat’s longest-serving elected Prime Prime Minister—a milestone that invites not merely political celebration but deep historical assessment. The significance of this period lies not simply in its duration, but in the historic scale of change witnessed across national security, economic growth, foreign policy, governance, infrastructure, technology, and Bharat’s global standing.
When viewed from the perspective of May 2014, many of the developments that have since become part of Bharat’s strategic and political reality would have appeared highly improbable. In 2014, global financial institutions categorized Bharat among the “Fragile Five” economies, weighed down by high inflation and structural paralysis. Whether one supports or opposes Prime Minister Narendra Modi politically, the Bharat of 2026 is structurally, economically, and geopolitically a fundamentally different nation.
1. From Strategic Restraint to Strategic Response :- One of the most visible changes has been in Bharat’s response to cross-border terrorism, effectively retiring the traditional doctrine of strategic restraint. Following the terrorist attack on an Army camp in Uri on 18 September 2016, Bharat announced that it had conducted Surgical Strikes across the Line of Control on 29 September 2016 against terrorist launch pads.
This shift became even more pronounced after the Pulwama terror attack of 14 February 2019, when the Bharatiya Air Force struck terrorist infrastructure deep within Balakot. By executing these targeted operations, Bharat established a new security paradigm: proactive deterrence. These actions signaled a permanent willingness to impose direct, asymmetric military costs on terrorist networks and their sponsors, changing the rules of engagement along the frontier.
2. Military Indigenization and Jointness: Structural Triumphs and the Human Element :- Parallel to the shift in tactical response has been a foundational overhaul of Bharat’s defense architecture, driven by the dual mandates of structural integration and Aatmanirbharata (self-reliance). The long-delayed creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the ongoing transition toward the theaterization of national resources mark a historic departure from legacy, siloed command systems toward a unified, joint-warfighting doctrine.
Simultaneously, the defense manufacturing landscape has transformed; strict import embargo lists and aggressive domestic production policies have systematically reversed foreign dependencies. By the end of FY 2025–26, Bharat’s defense exports skyrocketed to an all-time high of ₹38,424 crore—marking a staggering 62.66 percent growth over the previous fiscal year and charting a clear, near-term trajectory to cross the state’s strategic target of ₹50,000 crore annually.
This indigenization drive has been mirrored by deep institutional integration within the services, characterized by the landmark expansion of permanent commissions for women officers and their historic entry into command paths as well as non-officer ranks across the branches.
The Strategic Caveat: Yet, as future historians assess these sweeping structural milestones, a critical gap remains outside the immediate focus of the political leadership: the holistic welfare, career progression, and psychological motivation of the individual soldier. In modern warfare, technology, structural re-engineering, and indigenized weapons are merely force multipliers. The entire framework of national progress becomes fragile if the “man behind the weapon” and the personnel protecting the frontlines face institutional neglect. For Bharat to sustain its geopolitical ceiling, the motivation, equity, and institutional care of its military human capital must remain as fiercely prioritized as the systems they deploy.
3. Bharat’s Economic Rise :- In 2014, Bharat was the world’s tenth-largest economy by nominal GDP. During the following decade, it climbed steadily through the global rankings, defying widespread skepticism. By 2025, Bharat had overtaken Japan to emerge as the world’s fourth-largest economy, with a nominal GDP exceeding four trillion dollars.
Bharat’s nominal GDP increased from approximately US2.04 trillion in 2014 to over US4 trillion by 2025, reflecting both sustained economic expansion and the growing weight of the Bharatiya economy in global affairs. Bharat has consistently remained among the fastest-growing major economies. Recent GDP data showed annual growth of approximately 7.7 percent during FY 2025–26, highlighting the structural resilience of the economy despite intense global uncertainties and fractured supply chains.
4. COVID-19 and Vaccine Diplomacy :- The COVID-19 pandemic represented the most severe global public-health crisis in a century. Bharat not only managed a massive domestic immunization drive but also developed indigenous vaccines to launch the Vaccine Maitri initiative in January 2021. Through grants, commercial exports, and multilateral commitments, Bharat supplied vaccines and critical medical assistance to dozens of countries.
This effort strengthened Bharat’s reputation as a dependable, compassionate global stakeholder during a period of worldwide crisis. It demonstrated Bharat’s pharmaceutical independence and its capacity to contribute meaningfully to global public health when traditional Western supply chains contracted inward.
5. Neighborhood Diplomacy, Border Realities, and Rising Global Stature :-
Bharat’s geopolitical approach over the past twelve years has successfully combined local neighborhood management with an uncompromising stance on territorial integrity and unprecedented global prestige. In its immediate periphery, New Delhi has consistently stabilized regional relations through critical economic lifelines—such as the vital credit lines extended to Sri Lanka—while masterfully navigating complex, shifting political landscapes in Bangladesh and the Maldives. This diplomatic dexterity is securely anchored by a robust, symmetric military posturing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). By firmly checking Chinese pressure from the Siliguri Corridor to the Galwan Valley, Bharat has established an enduring baseline of proactive deterrence along its northern frontiers.
Concurrently, this strategic resolve has fueled a dramatic surge in Bharat’s global civilizational stature. Between 2016 and 2026, the Prime Minister has been conferred with a record-breaking 29 highest state decorations and top international awards from foreign nations—spanning the Middle East, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific—making him the most internationally decorated leader in Bharatiya history. This global authority has not only consolidated deep partnerships with Western and West Asian powers but has also facilitated a historic cultural renaissance outside domestic borders. The inauguration of grand, traditional Hindu temples in prominent Islamic nations—such as the landmark BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi—stands as a profound testament to Bharat’s unmatched soft-power diplomacy, proving that modern Bharat now commands an international repute that bridges distinct geopolitical and civilizational spheres with absolute confidence.
6. Governance, Transparency, and Digital Transformation :- One of the most significant structural overhauls has been the expansion of digital governance. Initiatives such as Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Aadhaar integration, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and robust digital public infrastructure (DPI) have fundamentally transformed the delivery of government services.
The JAM Trinity—Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar identification, and Mobile connectivity—has enabled the state to transfer welfare benefits directly into the bank accounts of citizens. This architecture formalized the economy and reduced administrative leakages from double-digit percentages to near-zero, ensuring transparency.
Launched in April 2016, UPI revolutionized financial velocity across the country. By 2025, UPI was handling more than 18 billion transactions every single month, transforming Bharat into one of the world’s absolute leaders in digital-payment ecosystems. Today, Bharat’s DPI is widely studied by global financial governance bodies as a premier model for inclusive, population-scale digital transformation.
7. A More Assertive Foreign Policy :- Bharat’s foreign policy has shifted from a reactive posture to a proactive, multi-aligned, and multidimensional strategy driven by enlightened self-interest. Strategic partnerships have expanded aggressively across the United States, Europe, West Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific region.
The successful hosting of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023 further underscored Bharat’s growing diplomatic weight and its emergence as a consensus-builder for the Global South. Bharat’s presidency culminated in the unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration—a major diplomatic achievement that many global observers considered impossible given the deep geopolitical polarization stemming from the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Bharat has simultaneously strengthened relations with traditional partners while building new economic and security frameworks, reflecting a confident, clear-eyed foreign policy.
8. Strategic Autonomy: Balancing BRICS and the Quad :- A distinctive feature of modern Bharatiya diplomacy has been its masterclass in multi-alignment—demonstrated by its active, high-level participation in both BRICS and the Quad. While BRICS provides a vital platform alongside Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa to shape continental Eurasian trade and alternative financial architectures, the Quad enhances crucial maritime security and strategic cooperation with the United States, Japan, and Australia.
This dual engagement reflects Bharat’s deeply held principle of strategic autonomy and its firm refusal to be drawn into rigid, 20th-century bloc politics. Few global powers have managed to balance these competing alignments with the same degree of diplomatic dexterity and sovereign independence.
9. Decline of Left-Wing Extremism :- According to Ministry of Home Affairs data, Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) has witnessed a massive, structural decline over the past decade. At its peak around 2010, LWE affected more than 120 districts across several states and was frequently described as Bharat’s single greatest internal security challenge.
The number of LWE-affected districts declined sharply from 126 districts in 2013 to 90 in 2018, 70 in 2021, and down to approximately 18 most-affected districts by 2025. Violent incidents and security-force casualties have fallen by nearly 80–90 percent compared with peak levels. This turnaround was achieved through a synchronized “security plus development” strategy—combining high-intensity security operations with aggressive road connectivity, telecommunications expansion, banking access, educational initiatives, and targeted welfare programmes that effectively restored the visible presence of the state in previously alienated regions.
10. Economic Federalism and State-Led Growth :- Bharat’s growth story is increasingly driven by its federal engines. States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh have emerged as highly competitive economic powerhouses.
Through the practice of competitive sub-national federalism, individual Bharatiya states now possess economies and manufacturing outputs larger than those of several sovereign European and Southeast Asian nations. This shift demonstrates the growing strength of Bharat’s decentralized economic model, where states actively compete for global capital, infrastructure projects, and technology transfers.
11. Article 370 and Constitutional Integration :-
On 5 August 2019, the Government of Bharat took the monumental step of revoking the special, transient constitutional provisions associated with Article 370, fully integrating Jammu and Kashmir into the constitutional framework of the union and reorganizing the region into Union Territories.
Supporters regard this decision as a long-overdue, historic step toward complete national integration, administrative uniformity, and economic revitalization for the region, while critics continue to debate its domestic political implications. Regardless of political lens, it stands as one of the most consequential, definitive constitutional milestones in the history of independent Bharat.
12. Ram Mandir and Civilizational Confidence :-
The consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on 22 January 2024 marked the spiritual and cultural culmination of one of independent Bharat’s longest-running socio-political movements.
For millions of Bharatiyas, the event transcended the physical completion of a structure. It represented a historic watershed moment for the nation’s cultural continuity, the reclamation of civilizational identity, and the shedding of old, post-colonial hesitations in favor of a profound national confidence.
13. Democratic Endorsement and Political Longevity ;-
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Narendra Modi’s tenure has been its repeated, unassailable validation through the democratic process. Winning three consecutive general elections and securing sweeping victories across numerous state elections reflects a rare, sustained public mandate across a highly diverse electorate.
In a nation of over 1.4 billion people, defined by immense linguistic, cultural, and regional fractures, such political longevity and stability are historic exceptions in modern democratic politics, providing the political predictability required for long-term strategic planning.
Conclusion: The Rise of a More Confident Bharat
History rarely remembers leaders solely for the years they spend in office; it remembers them for the irreversible transformations they leave behind. Compared to 2014, the Bharat of 2026 is more economically ambitious, strategically assertive, technologically integrated, and far more influential on the global stage. While supporters may view this as definitive proof of visionary statecraft and critics continue to debate specific policies, there is no denying that the last twelve years have permanently altered Bharat’s national trajectory and elevated its geopolitical ceiling. Ultimately, this is not merely the story of an administration, but the epic of a civilizational state that has redefined its place in the global hierarchy, transitioning from a hesitant nation into a stronger, sovereign, and self-assured Bharat. Jai Hind.
