11 Years of Modi Government: From poverty to Empowerment

The Indian Constitution enshrines the principle of equality, guaranteeing every citizen dignity, opportunity, and justice. Yet for decades after Independence, the lived reality for millions was starkly different. Vast numbers of Indians remained deprived of basic necessities—clean water, toilets, electricity, healthcare, housing, and education. Poverty was not just an economic condition but a barrier to social mobility, aspiration, and dignity.

Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has placed Antyodaya—the idea that development is incomplete until it reaches the last person—at the heart of its policy vision. In eleven years, this principle has reshaped the architecture of welfare delivery in India.

Moving away from fragmented, patronage-driven models, the government has sought to build systems of irreversible empowerment, ensuring that the poor and marginalised are not dependent recipients of state charity but active participants in the nation’s development journey.

This article examines the scope, impact, and philosophy behind this transformative approach to serving the poor and marginalised.

From Patronage to Empowerment

Earlier welfare regimes often followed a piecemeal approach. Benefits were distributed selectively, leaving large sections of the population dependent on government largesse without any real empowerment.

Prime Minister Modi has sought to end this cycle of dependency. His government’s programmes are designed for saturation coverage—ensuring that welfare is universal, transparent, and permanent.

As Modi himself has emphasised, once a household receives electricity, a toilet, an LPG connection, or piped water, these facilities cannot be taken away. This irreversibility not only improves quality of life but also raises aspirations. Citizens begin to expect more from the state, pushing governments towards higher standards of delivery. In doing so, the politics of low expectations and low delivery—long entrenched in India—has been steadily dismantled.

Expanding Access to Basic Amenities

One of the most striking features of the last decade has been the expansion of welfare to every household, particularly those on the margins.

• PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana provides free food grains to 81 crore Indians, ensuring nutritional security for nearly two-thirds of the population.

• Swachh Bharat Mission has seen the construction of more than 12 crore toilets, freeing women from indignity and improving sanitation across villages and cities.

• Jal Jeevan Mission has connected over 15 crore households to tap water supply, ending the age-old ordeal of fetching water from distant sources.

• PM Awas Yojana has enabled the construction of more than 4 crore houses, offering not just shelter but also security and dignity.

These interventions have fundamentally altered India’s development landscape. For millions, what were once seen as privileges reserved for the affluent have now become guaranteed entitlements.

Financial Inclusion and Entrepreneurship

Empowerment also means economic opportunity. The government has pursued financial inclusion and entrepreneurship as tools to uplift marginalised groups.

The MUDRA Yojana, launched in 2015, has sanctioned over 52.5 crore loans to small entrepreneurs. Significantly, more than half of these loans have gone to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, helping break centuries of exclusion from capital and enterprise.

Similarly, the Stand-Up India scheme has provided loans worth over ₹14,700 crore to SC and ST entrepreneurs, creating pathways for self-employment and business ownership. Meanwhile, the PM SVANidhi scheme has enabled over 68 lakh street vendors to access affordable credit, protecting livelihoods and ensuring financial stability.

For women, financial empowerment has been a parallel priority. During the COVID-19 lockdown, 20 crore women received direct cash transfers into their Jan Dhan accounts. In addition, over 35 crore MUDRA loans have been extended to women entrepreneurs, encouraging them to step into the marketplace with confidence.

Social Justice Beyond Rhetoric

The Modi government’s approach to social justice has sought to address historical inequities while also acknowledging new vulnerabilities.

One landmark reform was the introduction of 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) among upper castes. This move recognised that poverty is not confined to caste categories and extended support to previously overlooked households.

Simultaneously, OBC and EWS reservations were implemented in all-India quota seats in medical education, ensuring that students from these groups can aspire to careers in premier public institutions.

The government has also extended focused support to Divyangjan (persons with disabilities), transgender citizens, and nomadic tribes. The Namaste scheme was launched to eliminate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning, a long-standing indignity faced by sanitation workers. These steps demonstrate a commitment to not just welfare but dignity, inclusion, and opportunity.

Recognising and Empowering Tribal Communities

India’s tribal communities, often left at the margins of national development, have been given renewed attention. The government has celebrated Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, honouring tribal icons like Bhagwan Birsa Munda. The 2024 celebration marked his 150th birth anniversary, highlighting tribal contributions to India’s freedom struggle.

Beyond symbolism, material measures have followed. Since 2014, the government has sanctioned over 11 Tribal Freedom Fighter Museums across 10 states, ensuring that the role of tribal leaders is remembered. There has also been a fourfold increase in the sanctioning of Eklavya Residential Schools, improving access to quality education for tribal children.

Together, these initiatives have brought tribal heritage into the national mainstream, while also addressing socio-economic gaps.

Global Recognition of Poverty Reduction

India’s efforts to serve the poor and marginalised have not gone unnoticed by the world.

A recent IMF paper credited India with eliminating extreme poverty, while the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)—compiled by the UNDP and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative—confirmed a reduction across all ten indicators of multidimensional poverty.

These recognitions reinforce the idea that India’s welfare architecture is not just impactful domestically but also serves as a global model for inclusive development.

Antyodaya and Saturation: The End of Appeasement Politics

Perhaps the most defining change of the past decade has been the government’s focus on saturation coverage. The Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, for instance, has reached more than 2.6 lakh gram panchayats and 4,000 urban local bodies, ensuring that welfare schemes are not selectively applied but extended universally.

This approach contrasts sharply with earlier models, where welfare was often distributed selectively to build vote banks. Today, the principle is clear: every citizen, regardless of identity, must receive the full benefits of governance. In the words of the Prime Minister, this marks the end of appeasement politics and the beginning of a new era of irreversible empowerment.

By the Numbers: Milestones of Inclusive Growth

The transformation is best captured in data:

• 81 crore beneficiaries under PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
• 12 crore toilets constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission
• 15 crore households with tap water connections

• 4 crore houses built under PM Awas Yojana

• 52.5 crore MUDRA loans disbursed

• ₹14,700 crore+ sanctioned under Stand-Up India

• 20 crore women received direct transfers during COVID-19

• 68 lakh street vendors supported under PM SVANidhi

• 4x increase in Eklavya Residential Schools since 2014

Each figure represents more than policy—it represents lives transformed and communities uplifted.

Antyodaya as a National Mission

Serving the poor and marginalised has been the underlying promise of the Modi government’s eleven years in office. Guided by Antyodaya, the goal has been not just to alleviate poverty but to dismantle structures of exclusion, restore dignity, and foster aspiration.

From food security and housing to entrepreneurship and education, the breadth of interventions illustrates a comprehensive vision of inclusive growth. Crucially, these initiatives have been designed to be irreversible, creating a new baseline for governance in India.

The recognition by global institutions that India has ended extreme poverty marks a watershed moment. But for the government, the mission continues. As Modi has often reminded, the true measure of development lies in whether the last person in the queue benefits.

In that sense, Serving the Poor and Marginalised is not just a policy chapter—it is the central philosophy guiding India’s march towards Viksit Bharat in the Amrit Kaal.