PM Modi’s Decade of Disruption: India’s Economic Revolution Unveiled

When Narendra Modi assumed office in May 2014, his government hit the ground running, launching a Special Investigation Team on black money within hours, signaling a bold departure from the inertia of the previous UPA regime. This move, urged by the Supreme Court since 2011, set the stage for a decade of audacious economic reforms that have redefined India’s financial landscape, though not without controversy and challenges.

The most seismic moment came on November 8, 2016, with demonetisation, invalidating 86% of India’s currency overnight to curb black money and counterfeits. The move triggered long bank queues and a temporary economic slowdown but catalyzed a surge in digital payments, with electronic transactions soaring and formalizing India’s financial system. Today, UPI handles 18.4 billion transactions monthly, worth Rs 24 lakh crore, accounting for 85% of retail digital payments.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), rolled out in July 2017, unified 17 state and federal levies into a single tax, boosting collections from Rs 7.19 lakh crore in FY 2016-17 to a record Rs 22.08 lakh crore in FY 2024-25. The GST Council’s recent “GST 2.0” reform, announced in September 2025, streamlined tax slabs to 5% and 18%, with 40% reserved for luxury and sin goods, easing compliance for businesses.

Corporate tax cuts in 2019 slashed rates from 35% to 22% for existing firms and 15% for new manufacturing units, driving collections from Rs 6.5 lakh crore in FY20 to Rs 8.6 lakh crore by FY22, though at a fiscal cost of Rs 1.84 lakh crore in FY21. The 2025 Budget further raised the zero-tax threshold to Rs 12 lakh under a simplified, exemption-free personal tax regime, though many salaried taxpayers prefer the old system for deductions.

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Banking reforms have been transformative. The 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) expedited resolutions for distressed firms, with nearly 8,000 cases processed by 2024 and gross non-performing assets dropping from 11.2% in 2018 to 2.8%. Recapitalizing public-sector banks with Rs 3 lakh crore and consolidating them from 27 to 12 led to record profits of Rs 1.41 lakh crore in FY24. The Jan Dhan Yojana, launched in 2014, opened over 56 crore accounts, with Rs 2.68 lakh crore in deposits, two-thirds in rural areas and over half held by women, though 15–20% remain dormant.

Industrial initiatives like Make in India and the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, launched in 2020, spurred investment in electronics and pharma, with PLI approving 760 projects and generating Rs 1.61 lakh crore in investment and 11.5 lakh jobs. However, manufacturing’s GDP share lingers at 17%, missing the 25% target, and PLI disbursements have been slow. Asset monetization, targeting Rs 3.5 lakh crore from railway leasing, faces execution hurdles.

The Covid-19 crisis tested Modi’s fiscal restraint, with a modest 2% GDP stimulus in 2020, relying on credit guarantees and welfare like free foodgrains via Jan Dhan accounts. Critics argued this slowed recovery for the informal sector, but supporters credit it for maintaining fiscal discipline, enabling India’s rebound as a top-growing economy by 2022–23.

Modi’s reforms have formalized and digitized India, but demonetisation’s black money goals fell short, GST’s initial complexity burdened small firms, and PLI job creation underperformed. As Modi turns 75, the road ahead demands deeper tax simplification, infrastructure growth, and reforms in land, labor, and agriculture to sustain India’s economic ascent.

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