The Paradigm Shift Of 2025: India’s Economic Renaissance Under PM Narendra Modi

Sanju Verma portrays 2025 as a transformative year for India, blending cultural resurgence with robust economic performance under PM Modi. She credits “Modinomics” for bold structural reforms, rapid GDP growth, tax and compliance simplification, MSME empowerment, poverty reduction, and global trade gains, positioning India as a resilient, fast-growing economy on track for “Viksit Bharat” by 2047.

In her News18 article, Sanju Verma argues that 2025 marked a defining year for India, combining cultural resurgence with exceptional economic performance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She highlights symbolic milestones—from the Ram Mandir and Mahakumbh to global recognition of yoga and heritage—before asserting that India’s economy emerged as the standout success amid global uncertainty. With GDP growth of 8.2% in Q2 FY26, India became the world’s fourth-largest economy, surpassing Japan, and is projected to overtake Germany by 2030.

The article credits “Modinomics” for decisive, non-incremental reforms across finance, taxation, labour, infrastructure, energy and welfare. Key measures cited include 100% FDI in insurance, the Securities Markets Code, a simplified Income Tax Act with major middle-class relief, GST 2.0 rationalisation, and sweeping compliance and legal reforms such as Jan Vishwas. Strong industrial growth, low inflation, falling NPAs, and large-scale poverty reduction are presented as outcomes of these policies.

Verma emphasises MSME support, export promotion, ONDC-led digital commerce expansion, labour code consolidation, agricultural district reforms, and rising global capability centres. She also points to FTAs with multiple countries, nuclear sector modernisation, and infrastructure-led capex. Overall, the article portrays 2025 as a year of irreversible structural change, positioning India firmly on a path toward “Viksit Bharat” by 2047.

Full article as below, courtesy News18:

From the Dharma Dhwaja atop Ram Mandir after 500 years to Mahakumbh uniting 66 crore devotees, from UNESCO recognition to world records in Yoga and Republic Day, India’s culture is going global with pride. That was India, in 2025. However, if there was one area where India outshone global peers and exceptionally so, emerging as a beacon of resilience and innovation amid global uncertainties, it was the economy. Under the steadfast leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the year marked a pivotal chapter in the nation’s economic narrative, characterised by bold reforms that propelled India towards its vision of a Viksit Bharat—a developed India by 2047.

With GDP growth surging by 8.2 per cent in Q2FY26, India solidified its position as the fastest-growing major economy globally, outpacing the G-7’s sluggish 1.5 per cent average and the world’s modest 3 per cent growth rate. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition (LoP), had mocked the Indian Economy as “dead". But with our GDP valued at over $4.18 trillion, India has now surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, showing the mirror to the Gandhi scion. We are also poised to displace Germany from the third rank in the next 2.5-3 years with a projected GDP of over $7.3 trillion by 2030.

Modinomics has never been about incremental tokenism. Therefore, in a bold move, 2025 saw 100 per cent FDI liberalisation in insurance, unlocking billions in foreign capital. This reform, part of a broader financial sector overhaul, will bolster India’s financial resilience amid global volatility. Again, the Securities Markets Code (SMC) Bill, 2025, is a landmark legislation to consolidate and modernise India’s complex securities’ laws into a single, unified rulebook to streamline compliance, boost investor protection and enhance SEBI’s regulatory powers. Clearly, 2025 was not about incrementalism, but about undoing decades of hesitation and doing so without chaos, coercion or cronyism. 2025 has been all about irreversible shifts in how the Modi government governs the economy, with a sharp focus on land, labour, capital and welfare.

To add to the year-end cheer, industrial production, in November 2025, grew by 6.7 per cent, with manufacturing up by a solid 8 per cent. In growth terms, capital goods’ output rose 10.4 per cent year on year, infrastructure and construction goods expanded 12.1 per cent, intermediate goods by a healthy 7.3 per cent and consumer durables by a massive 10.3 per cent. Consumer non-durables also grew by a solid 7.3 per cent. Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), declined from 29.17 per cent in FY2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in FY2022-23 as per NITI Aayog. Extreme poverty also dropped from 27.1 per cent in FY2011-12 to 5.3 per cent in FY2022-23, with over 269 million people lifted out of extreme poverty in this period. Things took a dramatic turn for the better in 2025 as Modinomics combined structural reforms with welfarism, judiciously.

The remarkable achievements this year were not mere happenstance but the fruit of meticulously crafted policies that fostered investment, streamlined regulations and empowered every stratum of society, under the aegis of PM Modi. Despite US tariffs up to roughly 50 per cent, India’s Export Promotion Mission (EPM), with an outlay till 2030, of Rs 25,060 crore, rewired the ecosystem, turning adversity into opportunity. Businesses, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), reaped immense benefits. Compliance costs were slashed by between Rs 65,000-85,000 per MSME, saving unwanted man-hours and reducing litigation. By easing Quality Control Orders (QCOs), the Modi government helped prevent production disruption for over 63 million MSMEs.

A total of 22 QCOs were revoked across synthetic fibres, yarns, plastics, polymers, and base metals, while 53 QCOs were suspended in various steel, engineering, electrical, alloy and consumer end product categories. Under the old system, Indian MSMEs were incentivised to stay small or lose benefits. Budget 2025 fixed that distortion.

Investment and turnover limits were expanded. The definition of “small companies" has been expanded to include firms with turnovers up to Rs 100 crore. This reform recognises a basic truth UPA never did. Economies grow when firms are allowed to scale, not when they are frozen for vote-bank arithmetic. Again, in a quiet but historic move, RBI scrapped nearly 500 obsolete circulars, some dating back to World War II. What remained were 244 clear, consolidated “Master Directions". The Modi government is about less clutter and more clarity.

The Modi government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative has achieved significant milestones in democratising e-commerce by expanding its geographical reach. ONDC has onboarded over 7 lakh sellers and service providers across India and enabled over 350 million transactions to date. The network facilitates more than 12 million orders per month and has expanded its reach to over 600 cities, with delivery capabilities extending to 1,200 cities, connecting rural merchants to national and global markets. The initiative has specifically focused on MSMEs, local artisans and street vendors by providing them with a platform to compete with larger e-commerce giants.

One of the crowning jewels of 2025 was the comprehensive overhaul of India’s tax system, directly putting more money into the pockets of millions. The introduction of the new Income Tax Act, 2025, replaced the outdated 1961 Act, with a modern, simplified framework that emphasised voluntary compliance and rationalised exemptions. A standout feature was the tax relief for the middle class.

Under the new Income Tax regime, an annual income of up to Rs 12.75 lakh is effectively tax-free for salaried individuals. This benefit unlocked over Rs 1 lakh crore in savings, which via the “multiplier effect", multiplied into Rs 5 lakh crore in terms of a consumption boom, equivalent to well over 2 per cent of GDP. Despite lower taxes and higher tax slabs, direct tax collections are at all-time highs. The lesson is simple—the Modi government trusted the citizens and they complied. Under the Congress-led UPA era, citizens were hunted and they were forced to hide and conceal. Complementing this was the restructuring of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), simplified into two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent under GST 2.0, with zero-rating of everyday essentials, enhancing affordability. Only luxury and sin goods are taxed at penal rates. Also, inflation was tamed to historic lows, with CPI dropping from 3.34 per cent in March 2025 to 0.71 per cent in November, boosting purchasing power and consumer confidence.

Legal and compliance reforms by streamlining governance via “Jan Vishwas" decriminalised over 200 minor offences. An initial version in 2022 amended 42 Acts, laying the groundwork for the 2025 Jan Vishwas Bill, proposing 355 amendments to 16 Acts across 10 ministries, focusing on both ease of business and living. Commendably, 71 Acts have been repealed through the Repealing and Amendment Bill, 2025. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)addressed modern crimes, incorporating digital evidence and timelines for trials. Building permits were eased, with green cover mandates tailored to industry needs, thereby ensuring ease of doing business (EODB) was not a mere paper tiger.

Banking sector health improved dramatically, thanks to prior reforms like the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Notably, 26 listed banks–14 private, 7 public sector and 5 small finance banks, had a combined average, gross and net NPA of just 2.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively in September 2025—the lowest in the last 25 years, in an ode to Modinomics. Slippage ratio too fell dramatically to 1.3 per cent.

For decades, India’s nuclear sector was frozen, held hostage by outdated laws. While the US, UK, Japan and even China moved ahead, India stalled. The SHANTI Bill ends that stagnation. It opens nuclear energy to regulated private participation, while retaining sovereign oversight, unlocking clean power, energy security and strategic autonomy. This is not deregulation. This is modernisation, long overdue. Few dared to even attempt this—Only one executed it and it is none other than the Modi government. Energy sector advancements included renewables’ expansion, with new milestones under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. Domestic Coal production crossed 1 billion tonnes.

Building self-reliant infrastructure leaped forward, with government capex surging to Rs 2.75 lakh crore in Q1FY26. Maritime reforms through five new Bills seek to modernise ports, replacing archaic laws like the Bills of Lading Act, 1856, Indian Ports Act of 1908 and a few Acts dating back to 1925 and 1958. Maritime reforms will further empower India’s blue economy, which currently contributes around 4 per cent to our GDP, driven by fisheries, shipping (handling 95 per cent of trade by volume), tourism, and marine energy, with significant growth potential through initiatives like the Deep Ocean Mission, aiming towards a $100 billion blue economy by 2030.

2025 will be hailed as the year when 125 days of guaranteed employment through schemes like VB-G-RAM-G,with focus on durable assets and higher income security, by linking it to the PM Gati Shakti initiative, were crystallised. Also, the Labour Codes, streamlined 29 Central labour laws into a cohesive framework of 4 Codes, moving away from inspector raj to worker dignity. Social security was expanded, covering gig workers and informal sectors, with gratuity after 1 year, equal pay, mandatory appointment letters, single registration and more. For decades, under the Congress, agricultural policy simply meant loan waivers and MSP subsidy. But PM Dhan Dhaanya Krishi Yojana applies a proven governance model, whereby 100 low-performing agricultural districts, via Rs 24,000 crore over six years, with district-level planning and digital dashboards, will get easy credit. The aim is to increase farmer incomes through convergence of 36 schemes across 11 ministries, benefiting 1.7 crore farmers. It promotes eco-friendly methods, natural farming and integrated farming systems (e.g., Moringa with poultry). This is what rural reform looks like, when bona-fide intent replaces symbolism.

Among other things, the Modi government has positioned India as a premier destination for Global Capability Centres (GCCs),with India’s GCCs moving away from basic back-office support to global innovation and R&D hubs. India is now home to nearly 50 per cent of the world’s GCCs, with the sector projected to reach a market value of over $100 billion by 2030. Over 400 new GCCs have been added in the last five years, bringing the total to over 1,800 centers in India. The sector employs over 2 million professionals, a number expected to grow to nearly 3 million by 2030. GCCs are now focusing on high-value functions such as R&D, AI adoption, cybersecurity, and intellectual property creation, moving beyond traditional support roles.

Modi’s strategic diplomacy in 2025 yielded unprecedented results. India and the UK, India and Oman, India and New Zealand, signed major free trade agreements in 2025, on the lines of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) or Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). In a landmark development, FTA with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, was operationalised. From tax reliefs that boosted consumer spending to labour codes that modernised workplaces, Modi’s big-bang, structural reforms unlocked India’s latent potential, creating a sweeping effect of prosperity that touched urban centers, rural hinterlands and global markets alike. Modi’s third term, bolstered by political stability following key state election victories, accelerated the mandate for “Reform, Perform, Transform", with even greater alacrity. Eventually, big reforms require a big vision and an even bigger skill–the skill of seamless execution. The Congress-led UPA specialised in fancy headlines without execution. Prime Minister Modi, on the other hand, combines the best of both—grand vision and the ability to bring his vision to fruition, with unwavering finesse.

Sanju Verma is an Economist, National Spokesperson of the BJP and the Bestselling Author of ‘The Modi Gambit’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.