Written by: Taranjit Singh Sandhu 4 min readJun 17, 2026 06:20 AM IST First published on: Jun 17, 2026 at 06:20 AM IST History seldom moves in a straight line. Every generation confronts its own challenges and must find answers suited to its time. When India gained Independence in 1947, its leadership needed to establish democratic institutions, integrate a vast and diverse population, build an administrative framework, develop scientific capabilities, and chart a path toward economic growth despite severe resource constraints. By 2014, however, the challenge was making existing institutions more responsive, efficient, and capable of delivering meaningful outcomes to a population of 1.4 billion in an interconnected world. In many respects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s contribution has been to align governance with the aspirations of a rapidly changing India. Over the past decade, India has witnessed governance initiatives on a scale rarely seen anywhere in the world. More than 56 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened. Notably, more than half of these accounts belong to women, expanding economic opportunity and strengthening individual empowerment. …