25 Years Of Seva: Narendra Modi’s Journey From Gujarat To The Global Stage

On 7 October 2001, Narendra Modi took the oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Twenty-five years later, on 7 October 2026, he marks an extraordinary milestone: 25 uninterrupted years at the helm of government, first in Gujarat and, since 2014, as Prime Minister of India.

Few contemporary political careers have combined such longevity, electoral success and continuity of leadership. For Modi, the milestone is being described by supporters through one word that has become central to his political philosophy — ‘seva’, or service.

The Union Cabinet, in a resolution passed this week, described his 25-year journey as one guided by ‘Nation First’ and ‘Citizen First’, highlighting the continuity between his Gujarat years and his tenure as Prime Minister. The resolution points to initiatives ranging from SWAGAT and Jyotigram in Gujarat to Jan Dhan, UPI, GST, infrastructure expansion, welfare delivery, technological development and India’s growing international role.

But 25 years also provide an opportunity to look beyond individual schemes and political arguments and ask a larger question: What has the Modi era meant for India and for India’s place in the world?

From Gujarat to New Delhi

When Modi became Gujarat Chief Minister in 2001, he inherited a state still recovering from the devastating Bhuj earthquake earlier that year. His subsequent tenure established many of the themes that would later define his national leadership — infrastructure, technology, investment, administrative monitoring and an emphasis on measurable delivery.

Initiatives such as SWAGAT, which allowed citizens to raise grievances directly with the administration, and Jyotigram, which restructured electricity distribution in rural Gujarat, subsequently became examples of governance approaches that could be applied nationally.

After becoming Prime Minister in 2014, Modi attempted to take this model to the scale of a country of more than a billion people.

Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile connectivity created the architecture for large-scale digital welfare delivery, while UPI fundamentally changed the way Indians make everyday payments.

The Cabinet’s 25-year review notes that almost 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened, more than 4 crore homes have been delivered under housing programmes, and PM-KISAN transfers have crossed Rs 4 lakh crore.

Whether one agrees with every policy decision or not, the scale of the transformation is difficult to ignore.

An India More Confident About Its Global Role

Perhaps the biggest change of the Modi years has been psychological as much as economic.

India today increasingly presents itself not merely as a developing country seeking a place at the table, but as a country seeking to shape the table itself.

The G20 presidency, the inclusion of the African Union in the G20, India’s advocacy for the Global South, Vaccine Maitri and its increasingly active engagement with major powers have all contributed to that change. The government has also sought to combine India’s technological capabilities with its diplomatic outreach.

From Chandrayaan-3 to UPI, from semiconductor ambitions to renewable energy, the underlying message has been that India should increasingly possess the capacity to build, innovate and deliver at scale.

This is reflected in the government’s emphasis on Atmanirbhar Bharat — self-reliant India — while simultaneously pursuing deeper integration with the global economy.

And Then There Is Britain

For those of us living in the United Kingdom, perhaps one of the most important chapters of Modi’s foreign-policy legacy is the transformation of the India-UK relationship.

The relationship has moved well beyond its traditional foundations of history, education, migration and the Indian diaspora.

Today, it encompasses trade, investment, technology, finance, defence, education, healthcare, artificial intelligence and professional services.

The numbers tell part of the story.

India-UK bilateral trade reached approximately £47.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of 2025, according to the Indian High Commission, representing a 10% increase over the previous year.

More importantly, the long-awaited India-UK Free Trade Agreement entered into force on 15 July 2026.

The agreement gives duty-free access to 99% of Indian exports to the UK, while covering around 100% of the value of UK exports to India. It also opens opportunities in sectors including IT, financial and professional services, education, telecom, engineering and architecture.

The British government’s assessment estimates that the agreement could increase UK GDP by £4.8 billion annually in the long run, while bilateral trade could increase by approximately £25.5 billion a year.

That is more than a trade agreement. It represents the emergence of a much more ambitious economic partnership.

A Relationship Shaped by People as Much as Governments

The India-UK relationship also has something that few other bilateral relationships possess: a vast human bridge.

Millions of people of Indian heritage live in Britain. Indian-origin entrepreneurs, professionals, doctors, academics, investors and community leaders contribute across virtually every sector of British society.

At the same time, Britain remains an important destination for Indian investment, education, finance and professional expertise.

This makes the relationship unusually resilient. Governments may change, but the people-to-people connection remains.

The next stage should therefore be about converting this extraordinary human connection into greater investment, entrepreneurship, innovation and two-way economic opportunity.

25 Years — and the Next Chapter

Modi’s supporters will see the 25-year milestone as evidence of stability, decisive leadership and delivery. His critics will naturally scrutinise the centralisation of political power, economic challenges and the social and political controversies that have accompanied his tenure.

A newspaper article marking the occasion should acknowledge both realities.

But regardless of political perspective, 25 continuous years at the head of government is historically significant.

Modi himself has framed the next stage around the ambition of a Viksit Bharat — a developed India — by 2047, the centenary of Independence. At the commemorative Viksit Bharat event, he reiterated that his commitment was to continue working towards that objective.

For Britain, that ambition matters.

A more prosperous, technologically advanced and globally connected India creates enormous opportunities for the United Kingdom — from financial services in the City of London to technology, education, defence, healthcare, infrastructure and investment.

And for Indians in Britain, the strengthening of India-UK ties represents something deeper: a bridge between the country of their heritage and the country they call home.

After 25 years of public service, the Modi story is therefore no longer simply an Indian political story.

It is increasingly part of the story of India’s emergence in the world — and of India’s evolving partnership with Britain.

Twenty-five years completed. The next milestone is 2047.