Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India had lifted 250 million people out of poverty over the past decade, arguing that the government’s role should be to empower citizens rather than make them dependent on the system.
“The government has authority, but its purpose should not be to make its citizens dependent on the system. Rather, its purpose should be to strengthen and empower its citizens, and India is on this path,” Modi said while addressing the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi.
“Following this path, India has lifted 250 million people out of poverty in the last ten years – more than the population of many countries in the world,” he added.
The Prime Minister’s remarks linked the government’s poverty-reduction claim to a broader argument about the purpose of governance, with the Prime Minister saying public authority should help people strengthen their own capabilities and improve their lives.
Modi argued that the world needed to rethink how power was exercised, particularly as technology, data and innovation increasingly shape economies and societies.
He called for technological progress to benefit millions of people rather than a privileged few, making the case that access to knowledge and opportunity should be central to economic development.
The message was that governments and businesses should measure progress not only by economic growth or technological advancement, but also by how widely their benefits reach. Modi’s remarks placed citizen empowerment at the heart of that argument.
The PM also highlighted India’s digital reach, pointing to the scale of its online audience as an example of how technology can connect people and widen access to information.
He cited more than 500 million users each on YouTube and Instagram, arguing that India’s digital adoption offered scope to spread knowledge and opportunities across a vast population.
The broader point was that technology should not concentrate advantages among those who already have access to resources. Instead, it should help more people develop skills, participate in the economy and improve their prospects.