PM Modi’s 25-year journey and India’s global rise

October 7, New Delhi: It all started from Gujarat. When Narendra Modi became Chief Minister in 2001, Gujarat was facing the challenge of rebuilding after the devastating earthquake, this was one of the most difficult periods in the state's history.

Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister's answer was to put development, investment and governance at the centre of Gujarat's political narrative.

Two years later, The Vibrant Gujarat Summit, was launched in 2003. It became an important platform to bring investors, businesses and global partners to the state.

What began as an investment summit evolved into a major global business platform, laying the foundation for the economic diplomacy approach that was later taken to the national stage.

In 2014, that Gujarat experience moved to Delhi.

Even the first signals of the new government's foreign-policy priorities came at the swearing-in ceremony.

Leaders from the SAARC region were invited, underlining what would become known as the Neighbourhood First approach.

And Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose Bhutan for his first foreign visit

The message was clear, India's global ambitions would begin with its immediate neighbourhood.

But the idea of India's neighbourhood soon expanded beyond South Asia.

The Modi government strengthened engagement with the Indian Ocean region, ASEAN and the wider Indo-Pacific.

The earlier Look East approach was upgraded to Act East.

And initiatives such as SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) placed maritime cooperation, connectivity and security at the centre of India's regional outreach.

The Quad, bringing together India, the United States, Japan and Australia, became another important platform in India's Indo-Pacific engagement.

At the same time, India moved closer to Washington.

The relationship expanded from traditional areas of defence and trade to critical and emerging technologies, semiconductors, space, artificial intelligence and resilient supply chains.

Prime Minister Modi's 2023 state visit to the United States saw the relationship described as a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership.

The announcement on GE Aerospace and HAL for manufacturing fighter-jet engines in India became a symbol of the changing character of the partnership, from buyer-seller relations towards technology and co-production.

But closer ties with Washington did not mean a break with Moscow. India continued its longstanding strategic partnership with Russia.

Defence, energy, nuclear cooperation, space and trade remained important pillars.

Even amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, New Delhi maintained dialogue with Moscow, while repeatedly calling for diplomacy and dialogue.

This is perhaps the defining feature of India's new diplomatic approach, partnerships without allegiances, and strategic autonomy without strategic isolation.

Japan emerged as another critical pillar.

In 2014, Prime Minister Modi chose Japan for his first bilateral visit outside India's immediate neighbourhood.

India and Japan elevated their relationship to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

From infrastructure and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project to manufacturing, semiconductors and clean energy, the relationship has steadily acquired both economic and strategic depth.

And then came the transition from bilateral partnerships to global agenda-setting.

India's G20 presidency in 2023 offered the biggest stage yet.

At a time when the world was divided by war, economic uncertainty, debt and climate concerns, India positioned itself as a bridge between developed economies and the developing world.

The Voice of Global South Summit brought developing countries into India's G20 consultations.

And at the New Delhi Summit, the African Union was admitted as a permanent member of the G20.

Even during its presidency of BRICS 2026,  India emerged with a more united expanded BRICS, a stronger platform for the Global South and a chance to bring competing powers to the same table.

From a state-level investment summit in Gujarat to the presidency of the world's premier economic grouping, from prioritising the neighbourhood to engaging Washington, Moscow, Tokyo and the Indo-Pacific.

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the objective has increasingly been to make India's relationships work on multiple fronts at the same time. His vision reflects an India seeking not merely a seat at the table but a greater role in shaping the conversation.

(Caption 1: PM Modi addresses the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha, organised to mark his 25 years in public service, in New Delhi on October 7, 2026.)

(Caption 2: People attend PM Modi's Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha event, organised to mark his 25 years in public service, in New Delhi on October 7, 2026.)

Source & Wire Service: Prasar Bharati SHABD (DD / Akashvani News)