Gandhinagar, October 7, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi completes 25 years as the head of a government, his political journey from Gujarat Chief Minister to the country’s longest-serving elected head of government has also been marked by several initiatives that began as state-level experiments and were later adapted, expanded or given a national framework after he moved to New Delhi.
Modi took oath as Gujarat Chief Minister on October 7, 2001. On Tuesday, the Union Cabinet marked his 25 years of continuous leadership, highlighting the link between his experience in Gujarat and several national programmes.
The Cabinet resolution specifically cited SWAGAT and Jyotigram as examples of Gujarat initiatives whose underlying approaches were subsequently taken to the national level.
One of the clearest examples is SWAGAT, a technology-based grievance redressal system launched by the then Chief Minister Modi in Gujarat in April 2003. The platform enabled citizens to raise grievances directly with the Chief Minister and was later cited by Modi as an inspiration for PRAGATI, the Prime Minister’s platform for reviewing major projects and addressing implementation bottlenecks involving different governments. SWAGAT received the United Nations Public Service Award in 2010.
A similar trajectory can be seen in digital governance. Gujarat’s e-Gram Vishwagram project connected village panchayats through broadband and enabled access to government services. Modi later said Gujarat’s experience with e-Gram and other digital-governance infrastructure contributed to the wider adoption of technology in governance under Digital India.
In healthcare, Gujarat’s Mukhyamantri Amrutam (MA) scheme, launched in 2012 to protect poor families from high medical expenses, became part of the experience behind the larger Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana launched nationally in 2018. Gujarat later integrated MA with Ayushman Bharat as PMJAY-MA.
The Gujarat experience also extended to water and electricity. Jyotigram Yojana provided 24-hour power to villages through separate agricultural feeders, while community-based water initiatives and Pani Samitis offered a model for participatory water management.
Modi has linked Gujarat’s experience in water management with the national Jal Jeevan Mission, under which piped drinking water has been extended to rural households across the country.
Similarly, Gujarat’s Nirmal Gujarat campaign, launched as a state-level cleanliness initiative, preceded the nationwide Swachh Bharat Mission. Modi later referred to the Gujarat programme while discussing the national cleanliness campaign.
The same policy approach was visible in education and the social sector. Gujarat’s Kanya Kelavani and Shala Praveshotsav campaigns focused on girls’ enrolment and education, while the Central government later launched programmes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.
Gujarat’s Kaushalya Vardhan Kendras were also part of the state’s vocational-skilling efforts, preceding the creation of a dedicated national institutional framework through the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
The sports sector offers another direct example. Modi launched Gujarat’s Khel Mahakumbh in 2010, with 13 lakh participants competing across 16 sports. At the national level, Khelo India emerged as a platform for identifying and supporting sporting talent. Modi later described Khel Mahakumbh as the “seed” that grew into a much larger movement.
Across governance, healthcare, digital access, water, electricity, sanitation, girls’ education, skills and sports, the defining thread of Modi’s 25-year political journey has been the movement of several Gujarat-level experiments and policy approaches onto the national stage — sometimes as direct inspiration and at other times through broader national adaptation of similar objectives.
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