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Democracy delivers in India as people are at centre of governance: PM Modi
Jan-15-2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India has turned diversity into the strength of its democracy, and shown the world that democratic institutions and processes give stability, speed and scale to its development.

Addressing the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth in New Delhi, Modi also said democracy delivered results in India because the people of the country were at the heart of governance. He said that Indian democracy means last-mile delivery adding that welfare measures undertaken by the government with a spirit of public welfare, reach every individual without discrimination.

Modi highlighted that nearly 25 crore people in India came out of poverty over the past few years. He recalled that when India gained Independence, many doubted whether democracy could survive amidst the country’s immense diversity. PM said India turned diversity into its strength and emerged as the fastest-growing major economy.

PM said India has the world’s largest digital payment system through UPI, and the largest vaccine producer. He said India was also the second-largest steel producer, has the third-largest start up ecosystem, the third-largest aviation market, the fourth-largest railway network, the third-largest metro rail network. It is also the largest milk producer, and the second-largest rice producer. 

Narendra Modi said, this is the fourth occasion when the Conference of Commonwealth Speakers and Presiding Officers is being held in India. PM said India is strongly raising the concerns of the Global South on every global platform. Mr Modi said, during its G20 Presidency as well, India placed the priorities of the Global South at the centre of the global agenda.

The prime minister said the scale of India’s democracy is truly extraordinary and cited the 2024 general elections where 980 million citizens were registered to vote, a number larger than the population of some continents. Modi said there were more than 8,000 candidates and over 700 political parties contesting, and the elections also witnessed record participation by women voters.

PM further said Indian democracy was rich in diversity with hundreds of languages being spoken. The country also has over 900 television channels across different languages, and thousands of newspapers and periodicals published. He said very few societies manage diversity at such a scale, and India celebrates this diversity because its democracy has a strong foundation. PM also noted PM that India is called the ‘Mother of Democracy’. 

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, President of Inter Parliamentary Union Tulia Ackson, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Christopher Kalila were present among other dignitaries at the event.


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