PM Narendra Modi Reflects On 12 Years Of Welfare-Focused Governance, Set to Surpass Jawaharlal Nehru As India's Longest-Serving democratically Elected PM

New Delhi: PM Modi on Monday marked 12 years at the helm of the Union government by highlighting his administration’s welfare initiatives for the poor, even as he prepares to achieve a significant political milestone this week by becoming India's longest-serving democratically elected Prime Minister.

On June 10, 2026, Modi will complete 4,399 consecutive days in office, officially surpassing the record of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The milestone comes a day after Modi completes two years of his third term and 12 years since first assuming office in 2014.

Factoring in his nearly 13-year stint as Chief Minister of Gujarat between October 2001 and May 2014, Modi has spent more than 8,900 days heading an elected government, making him the longest-serving head of government in India's history.

Reflecting on his government's journey, Modi said India had undergone transformative changes over the past 12 years, with the welfare of the poor and marginalised remaining at the centre of policymaking.

"Over the last 12 years, India has witnessed many transformations and at the core of these changes is the welfare of the poor and downtrodden," the Prime Minister said in a series of posts on X.

Emphasising the philosophy of 'Antyodaya'— uplifting the last person in the queue—Modi said his government's constant endeavour had been to ensure that the benefits of development reached those who had remained excluded for decades.

Listing key flagship initiatives, he said schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), Swachh Bharat Mission, PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission and Ayushman Bharat were all designed to provide dignity, opportunity and improved living standards to millions of citizens.

Modi also underlined the role of technology in transforming welfare delivery and reducing leakages in government schemes.

"It is also gladdening that technology has played a vital role in ensuring a better quality of life for the poor," he said, adding that digital platforms and DBT mechanisms had enabled benefits to reach citizens directly and transparently.

"Through Direct Benefit Transfer and digital platforms, support is reaching people directly and transparently. This has reduced leakages, improved efficiency and strengthened trust in governance. This is how the journey of furthering Garib Kalyan has become a collective movement towards human empowerment and realising our dream of a Viksit Bharat," Modi wrote.

The Prime Minister was first sworn in on May 26, 2014, following the BJP-led NDA's victory in the Lok Sabha elections. He secured a second term in 2019 and returned for a third consecutive term on June 9, 2024, becoming only the second leader after Jawaharlal Nehru to win three successive mandates as Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah echoed Modi's emphasis on welfare-driven governance, describing Garib Kalyan as the Modi government's foremost priority.

In a post on X, Shah said that over the past 12 years, government schemes had connected crores of citizens to banking services, financial security and self-employment opportunities.