NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked 25 years of continuous service as head of a government with a forceful call for India to replace incremental ambitions with national-scale goals, unveiling a new political and development mantra “We will do it” and challenging 140 crore Indians to turn the country into a developed nation by 2047.
Addressing the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha’ at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, Modi transformed what was billed as a celebration of his quarter-century in executive office into a forward-looking call for collective national resolve. The crowd repeatedly echoed his words as he laid out a series of ambitious milestones, from becoming one of the world’s top three economies to building a self-reliant India, emerging as a global manufacturing hub, hosting the Olympics and taking India deeper into space.
“Viksit Bharat by 2047: We Will Do It. Top 3 Economy: We Will Do It. Atmanirbhar Bharat: We Will Do It. Global Manufacturing Hub: We Will Do It. Hosting the Olympics: We Will Do It. Step into space: We Will Do It,” PM Modi declared, drawing a thunderous response from the gathering.
“This energy, this enthusiasm, this self-confidence is extraordinary,” he said.
October 7, 2001, marked the beginning of PM Modi’s uninterrupted journey at the helm of government. On that day, he was sworn in as the 14th Chief Minister of Gujarat, succeeding Keshubhai Patel.
He went on to serve as Gujarat Chief Minister until May 2014 before becoming Prime Minister later that month after the BJP’s decisive Lok Sabha victory. He has since won three consecutive Lok Sabha elections and continued as Prime Minister.
Reflecting on the milestone, PM Modi said he had never imagined when he took oath in Gujarat that the journey would reach such a landmark. “As the head of the government, people regard this 25-year continuous journey as an achievement. But, for me, this is not a matter of personal glorification, nor is it the occasion for it,” he said.
Instead, PM Modi turned the anniversary into an appeal for renewed national effort. “Today is not just a day for memories. It is a day to fill our resolve with new energy,” he said, repeatedly urging citizens to embrace the message: “We will do it.”
He paid tribute to BJP workers, colleagues, NDA partners, supporters and those committed to democracy, saying that while his well-wishers had encouraged him, his critics had forced him to introspect.
The Prime Minister’s central message was that India’s growing economic and strategic capabilities demand equally ambitious national objectives. “It would be an injustice to Mother India if we were to pursue small goals. It would be an injustice to the nation’s potential if we were to pursue easy goals,” PM Modi said.
He argued that India had moved from being viewed primarily through the lens of vulnerability during crises to becoming a country whose resilience itself is now discussed globally. “Whenever a crisis struck, India’s economy would be shaken. Today, when a crisis comes, India’s strength is discussed. India’s resilience is discussed,” he said.
In a pointed political contrast, PM Modi recalled the period when India was accused of suffering from “policy paralysis”, saying the country now speaks of the “reforms express”. “Back then, ways were sought to increase imports, and today new export records are being set,” he said.
The remarks amounted to a sharp contrast between the economic narrative associated with the UPA era and the policy direction claimed by his government.
At the heart of the speech was PM Modi’s roadmap towards 2047, the centenary year of India’s Independence. His five major ambitions were:
The targets are intended to reinforce the government’s broader economic and strategic agenda, particularly its push to shift India from a consumption-heavy economy towards greater domestic production and manufacturing.
The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, launched in 2020, has been a key part of that strategy, encouraging investment and domestic production across several sectors.
India’s economic position has changed significantly over the past decade, PM Modi highlighted, with the country moving from the world’s 10th-largest economy around the time he became Prime Minister to one of the world’s largest economies today.
PM Modi repeatedly placed the emphasis not merely on government action but on collective national participation. “India may have challenges, but we also have 140 crore solutions,” he said.
He invoked his earlier call for ‘Sabka Prayas’, arguing that national progress cannot be driven by government alone. “There is no reason for India to stop,” he said, pointing to India’s demographic scale and arguing that the collective strength of its citizens can propel the country towards the 2047 objective.
He also linked the development agenda with the need to overcome divisions within society. “One of the biggest challenges the country faces is the division of society along the lines of votes,” PM Modi said.
He illustrated the point with everyday issues faced by citizens.
“If a farmer’s field lacks water, does the problem affect only one caste? When there is no electricity, does darkness fall only on one community? The answer is no. If the problem belongs to everyone, the solution must be for everyone,” he said.
PM Modi also used the story of Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar to underline his argument that India’s ambitions must extend from individual achievement to national technological capability.
Referring to reports of Machchhar’s actions in foiling an alleged attempt by his co-pilot to crash an Israel-bound flight despite being stabbed, PM Modi said the world was talking about an Indian pilot today.
But, he added, the larger ambition should be for the world to one day talk about “Made-in-India” aircraft. “Today there is a talk about the Indian pilot across the globe. A day will come, and indeed it will, when the world will speak of ‘Made-in-India’ plane,” PM Modi said.
For the Prime Minister, that transformation would require both policy vision and relentless execution. “These goals can only be achieved if we formulate visionary policies while also putting in the utmost hard work,” he said.
The tone of the address was less about looking back at 25 years and more about using the milestone to launch another phase of national ambition.
PM Modi said his own journey had never been driven by personal political ambition. Recalling his years working at the grassroots and among tribal communities before entering electoral politics, he said his guiding principle had been to live for a mission rather than for personal ambition.
“The upbringing and values instilled in me since childhood taught me to live my life for a mission, not for personal ambition,” he said. He said that when he entered government in Gujarat at the age of 50, he had no personal political report card as an elected representative and had never contested an election.
Twenty-five years later, the anniversary has become a defining moment in PM Modi’s political narrative from a state-level leader entering government in 2001 to a Prime Minister who has now spent a quarter-century continuously at the head of a government.
Yet his message was unmistakably forward-looking. “This is not the time to rest; it is the time to move forward with zeal and dedicate ourselves fully to the nation,” PM Modi said.
