MODI'S ECONOMIC POWER PLAY

IN ITS THIRD TERM, THE NARENDRA MODI-LED GOVERNMENT HAS CONTINUED TO RESHAPE INDIA’S ECONOMY THROUGH BOLD MOVES IN INFRA, TRADE, JOB CREATION, AND TAX REFORMS.

- Ashutosh Kumar

IN JUNE LAST YEAR, when the results of the Lok Sabha elections were announced and the Bharatiya Janata Party secured 240 seats, it had to depend on its National Democratic Alliance partners to form a government. At that moment, the question on everyone's mind was, will Prime Minister Narendra Modi be able to successfully lead an alliance without the BJP being in the majority?

Given the compulsions of alliance leaders under previous coalitions, the concern was whether coalition pressures will undermine the policy plank of the government.

As the BJP-led NDA government, or Modi 3.0, completes one year in office on June 9, sceptics have been silenced. Mega initiatives have been taken by the government without any visible cracks, even on sensitive issues, including the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Major decisions have been taken on the economic front as well. More than a dozen projects have been announced in the last one year by the Union Cabinet across sectors, entailing economic benefits to the tune of ₹4 lakh crore. India’s economy, the fastest growing in the world, continues to remain stable with mega investments lined up in infrastructure, semiconductors, and sunrise sectors.

The government has also showcased its strength in defence by clamping down on terror outfits based in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. Indian forces destroyed some Pakistani airbases, establishing a new normal that terror strikes will be akin to a war on the nation.

Macroeconomic stability

That said, the Indian economy has remained largely stable over the past one year, even in the wake of global tremors emanating from America’s Liberation Day tariff tantrum, which kicked off on April 2, 2025, with “reciprocal tariffs”, but waned soon as the Trump administration pressed the pause button, given the retaliation from China.