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JANUARY 02, 2026 | The Indian Eye 4

PERSON OF THE YEAR

NARENDRA MODI:

THE DEFINING

FIGURE OF 2025

In a year that reshaped India’s confidence at home and its standing abroad, Prime Minister

Narendra Modi emerged as the most consequential leader of 2025, driving growth, power,
and purpose across economy, security, diplomacy, and culture.

OUR EDITORIAL BOARD nal — deterrence backed by resolve.
Prime Minister Narendra
New York / New Delhi
Modi provided firm political lead-
y the end of 2025, Narendra ership during Operation Sindoor,
Modi stood not merely as In- setting clear red lines on nation-
Bdia’s Prime Minister, but as the al security after the Pahalgam ter-
central force shaping the country’s ror attack. He authorized a swift,
national trajectory. The year marked precise, and calibrated military re-
a culmination of long-term political sponse, reinforcing India’s doctrine
authority, administrative momentum, of zero tolerance toward terrorism.
and strategic ambition. From deep Defense modernization continued
economic reforms to decisive military alongside operational assertiveness.
action, from space milestones to cul- Modi unveiled Mission Sudarshan
tural assertion, Modi’s imprint was Chakra, an AI-driven next-generation
unmistakable. Few leaders anywhere missile defense system, reinforcing
matched the breadth of influence he India’s push toward indigenous, tech-
exercised across domains — and few- nology-led security capabilities. The
er still did so with such sustained po- emphasis was not only on strength,
litical legitimacy. but on self-reliance — a recurring
At the core of Modi’s 2025 lead- theme of Modi’s governance.
ership was a push for what his govern- and medium enterprises, the govern- actions crossed 18 billion a month by Science and space offered an-
ment described as “mega reforms.” ment raised MSME turnover limits mid-year, accounting for nearly half of other arena where India broke new
The most striking was the overhaul of to `100 crore and opened the insur- the world’s real-time digital payments. ground. In June 2025, Group Cap-
India’s tax architecture. The Income ance sector to 100% foreign direct What began as a domestic financial tain Shubhanshu Shukla became the
Tax Act, 2025 replaced the six-decade- investment. These measures reflected inclusion tool had, by 2025, become a first Indian to reach the International
old 1961 legislation, raising the tax- Modi’s continuing bet that growth global benchmark for public digital in- Space Station, a moment that symbol-
free income threshold from `7 lakh would be driven by scale, efficiency, frastructure, reinforcing India’s claim ized India’s arrival as a serious human
to `12 lakh. The reform was framed and integration with global capital. to leadership in digital governance. spaceflight power. ISRO also success-
as both relief and stimulus — easing Perhaps the most strategically If economic reforms shaped In- fully launched its heaviest satellite to
the burden on the middle class while significant reform came with the pas- dia’s internal momentum, national se- date, a 6.1-tonne payload, using the
boosting consumption. Alongside it sage of the SHANTI Bill, 2025, which curity defined its external posture. In LVM3 rocket. These achievements
came a major simplification of the allowed private and foreign participa- May 2025, following the terror attack were not isolated triumphs; they were
Goods and Services Tax, compressed tion in civilian nuclear energy proj- in Pahalgam, Indian forces carried out framed by Modi as stepping stones
into a two-slab structure of 5% and ects. Framed as essential to India’s Operation Sindoor, precision strikes toward a future where India would
18%, a move that sought to reduce clean energy transition, the move that destroyed terror infrastructure be a permanent presence in advanced
compliance friction and energies do- broke long-standing policy taboos across the border in Pakistan. The op- space exploration.
mestic demand. and underscored Modi’s willingness eration was swift, calibrated, and po- Modi’s foreign policy in 2025
Equally consequential was the full to recalibrate legacy positions in pur- litically unambiguous. As Modi later was marked by visibility, honors, and
implementation of four consolidated suit of long-term capacity. said in his Mann Ki Baat address, the deal-making. He received several of
Labor Codes, modernizing India’s India’s digital transformation world saw clearly that “today’s India the world’s highest civilian awards,
workforce framework and signaling — one of Modi’s signature legacies does not compromise on its security.” including Brazil’s Grand Collar of
a shift toward formalization and flexi- — reached a new peak in 2025. Uni- Operation Sindoor became both a the National Order of the Southern
bility. For businesses, especially small fied Payments Interface (UPI) trans- military statement and a political sig- Continued on next page... >>

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