By Rajiv Gauba
Governance failures are often not caused by a lack of intent. A subsidy may be generous, yet its implementation can leave room for leakages. A regulation may be framed in the public interest, but procedural uncertainty can discourage even honest entrepreneurs from taking decisions. Similarly, a grievance-redressal portal may be available, while a citizen may still feel that the complaint has not received the attention it deserves.
The important question, therefore, is not merely whether a policy was conceived with good intentions, but what outcomes the system actually produces in practice. The real test is whether the system makes the desired behaviour simpler, more predictable and easier to adopt at scale.
In a country as large as India, governance cannot be limited to administering government programmes. It must create systems capable of delivering services and benefits to hundreds of millions of people with speed, efficiency and predictability.
This has been at the core of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nearly 25-year governance journey, from Gujarat to the Union government. One of the most significant shifts during this period has been the move beyond managing individual schemes towards redesigning the systems through which the government interacts with citizens, businesses and officials.
The principle is straightforward: make the desired outcome easier to achieve, easier to measure and easier to implement at scale.
Technology has played a central role in this transformation. Digital identity, direct benefit transfers, standardised processes, dashboards, rankings, digital procurement systems, grievance-redressal platforms and publicly available performance data have created a new model of governance.
These systems have enabled the government to deliver services and implement programmes at an unprecedented scale and speed.
Technology and the Economics of Welfare Delivery
The economic impact of this transformation has also been significant.
The JAM framework—Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile connectivity—has established a direct digital link between the government and citizens. Through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), more than ₹53 lakh crore has been transferred directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts. At the same time, the removal of duplicate, deceased and fraudulent beneficiaries has resulted in estimated savings of ₹5.14 lakh crore for the public exchequer.
An assessment conducted in 2025 found that despite a 16-fold expansion in the number of beneficiaries, the Welfare Efficiency Index—the proportion of government expenditure that actually reaches citizens—rose from 0.32 in 2014 to 0.91 in 2023.
Under PM-KISAN, more than ₹4.47 lakh crore has been transferred directly into the bank accounts of 9.49 crore farmers. The removal of 2.1 crore ineligible beneficiaries resulted in estimated savings of ₹22,106 crore.
In the food distribution system, more than 5.03 crore duplicate, fraudulent or non-existent ration cards have been removed, while around 80 crore people receive free foodgrains every month.
The objective is not merely to plug leakages in welfare schemes. It is to ensure that the benefits of welfare programmes reach the intended population in a targeted, efficient and scalable manner.
Citizen Participation and Public Trust
The principle of Jan Bhagidari, or people’s participation, has also encouraged citizens to become more active participants in governance.
Under the ‘Give It Up’ campaign, households were encouraged to voluntarily surrender their LPG subsidy. More than 1.13 crore consumers participated in the initiative. At the same time, 4.15 crore duplicate, fraudulent, non-existent or inactive LPG connections were eliminated.
This demonstrates that policies can become more effective not only through regulation but also through trust, transparency and citizen participation.
Making Regulation Easier for Businesses
The same principle applies to economic regulation.
For an entrepreneur, the cost of regulation is not limited to money. It also includes time, attention, uncertainty and, at times, confidence. Excessive criminalisation can encourage defensive compliance rather than productive compliance.
The Jan Vishwas reforms directly address this problem.
Under the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, 183 provisions across 42 Central Acts were decriminalised. A further expansion of this approach came through legislation enacted in 2026, which amended 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 ministries.
Of these, 717 provisions and more than 1,000 offences were decriminalised, while 67 provisions were amended to promote ease of living. The legislation came into effect in April 2026.
The same approach can be seen in efforts to reduce the regulatory compliance burden. By November 2025, more than 47,000 compliances had been reduced. These included 16,108 compliances that were simplified, 22,287 that were digitised, 4,458 that were decriminalised and 4,270 unnecessary compliances that were eliminated.
Individually, each reduction may appear small. But when applied across millions of businesses and citizens, these incremental changes can translate into significant economic gains.
Government Procurement as a Market Opportunity
The same principle is visible in public procurement.
The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has replaced fragmented and relationship-driven procurement practices with a more transparent digital marketplace. Buyers can compare suppliers, while sellers can access government demand through a common platform.
As of July 30, 2026, GeM had 11.75 lakh MSMEs, 37,758 startups and 2.17 lakh women entrepreneurs registered on the platform. During FY2025-26, procurement from MSMEs through GeM reached ₹2.37 lakh crore.
These numbers matter because access to government demand can itself become an effective instrument of industrial policy.
When a small enterprise can see public-sector demand and compete for it, it has a stronger incentive to invest in capacity, quality and scale of production.
Measuring Performance Through Digital Governance
Government performance is also becoming increasingly measurable.
In 2026, the prescribed time limit for grievance redressal under the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) was reduced from 30 days to 21 days.
Between January 1 and July 15, 2026, the platform received 15.21 lakh grievances. Central ministries and departments took an average of 13 days to dispose of complaints during this period.
The broader principle is clear: what can be measured can be managed better, and what can be seen can be improved.
This is at the heart of the deeper transformation taking place in governance.
When a farmer receives assistance directly, he or she can plan with greater certainty. When unnecessary compliances are removed, an entrepreneur can devote more attention to building and expanding the business. When MSMEs gain access to public demand, they can invest in production capacity. When citizens can track the status of their grievances, their interaction with the governance system becomes more transparent.
In each of these cases, the governance system influences behaviour.
When such changes occur across millions of citizens, enterprises and government officials, they can translate into broader economic benefits.
Governance as an Economic Asset
The broader transformation associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach to governance is the creation of a more structured and purposeful interaction between the state, citizens, entrepreneurs and officials.
This emerging framework is based on the principle of Jan Vishwas—trust in citizens—which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described as a new paradigm of governance for Viksit Bharat.
India’s vast size was once viewed primarily as an administrative challenge. The emerging governance architecture presents a different possibility.
When common digital and institutional systems can deliver services, markets and opportunities to people more efficiently, the country’s scale can become an advantage rather than merely a challenge.
India’s next phase of development will depend on capital, infrastructure, skills, technology and entrepreneurship. But how effectively these forces are brought together will depend significantly on the quality of governance.
For this reason, the Modi model of governance is no longer confined to the administrative sphere. It is emerging as an economic asset and could become one of the important competitive advantages for India as the country moves towards a developed economy.
The author is a Member of NITI Aayog and former Cabinet Secretary, Government of India.
