On January 1, 2015, a Cabinet resolution replaced India’s Planning Commission with a new body, NITI Aayog. NITI stands for National Institution for Transforming India.
A Lion Made of Cogs
On September 25, 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the logo of the Make in India campaign. NewsMobile described it as “a lion made of cogs and the Ashoka Chakra.”
Startup India
On January 16, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Startup India. Ten years later, in January 2026, the commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, said there were “over 2 lakh” startups recognized by the government’s industry department, DPIIT. A year earlier the government had described India as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.
The Vocabulary of Renewal
Naya Bharat: New India. In August 2017 the government launched Sankalp Se Siddhi, from resolve to achievement, a movement to create a New India by 2022.
Atmanirbhar Bharat: self-reliant India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for it on May 12, 2020, when he announced a package of 20 lakh crore rupees.
Viksit Bharat: developed India. In his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2026, Modi restated 2047 as the target.
Silicon Valley of India
Bengaluru is known as the “Silicon Valley of India.” The city’s IT exports were estimated at 64 billion dollars in 2024.
Atal Tinkering Labs
Since 2016, 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs have been set up in Indian schools, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in 2025. In December 2025 the government announced 50,000 more.
Payments by Phone
In August 2026, Indians made 24.51 billion payments through UPI, the Unified Payments Interface. It was an all-time high, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India.
Here the ideal of rapid transformation and the daily routine meet.
Leave the Chalta Hai Attitude
On August 15, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort. He asked the country to give up a habit. His office posted: “We have to leave this ‘Chalta Hai’ attitude. We have to think of ‘Badal Sakta Hai’- this attitude will help us as a nation: PM”
Chalta hai means it will do. Badal sakta hai means it can change.