‘Modinomics’ & UPI transformed India’s growth story: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Kolkata

Singh said that India is “well-regulated and well-governed” today, claiming that public money meant for the welfare and development of the poor was no longer being diverted into the pockets of middlemen.

Speaking about the expansion of the domestic defence sector, he said India is now exporting defence equipment to more than 100 countries.

Singh praises CM Suvendu

Praising West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Singh said that his work in the state was gaining attention nationwide. Expressing confidence in Adhikari’s leadership, Singh said West Bengal would make a “significant contribution” to building a developed India.

“Under Prime Minister Modi-ji’s leadership, for the first time a government has been formed in West Bengal, led by Suvendu Adhikari-ji as the Chief Minister. And regarding the performance he has delivered so far, I am happy to say it is now being discussed in other states of the country as well,” he said.

Opening his address with some Bengali words, Singh said: “By the way, I want to know, are you all bhalo (well)? Bhalo.. I have immense love for the Bengali language, and I know that it is a very rich language. But unfortunately, I cannot speak Bengali fluently, which is why I will present all my points before you in Hindi.”

Singh was visiting Kolkata to detail the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s month-long ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, scheduled from September 17 to October 17. The initiative marks both Modi’s birthday and his completion of 25 years in public life.

“Exactly 20 days after his birthday, on October 7, Modi will complete 25 years of service as the head of the government… Meaning, the journey he began as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, including his time as Prime Minister, has spanned nearly 25 years. I believe this is a journey that has not only influenced the country’s politics but has also worked to give a new direction to India’s development and its global positioning,” the Defence Minister said.

Singh said that Modi leads by example and several symbolic milestones were achieved under his tenure. “For the first time in the history of independent India, all six stanzas of Vande Mataram were sung from the Red Fort on Independence Day this year. This is also a mark of respect for West Bengal,” he said.

Singh hails UPI initiative

Speaking about the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Singh said, “A good leader is someone who sets long-term goals and actually achieves them. Let me give you a few examples of Modi-ji’s vision and farsightedness. First, I want to discuss UPI. When UPI was initially launched, many people thought this initiative wouldn’t succeed under any circumstances. And many were asking: how will the poor benefit from this UPI?”

”Just last month, UPI completed 10 years since its implementation. In the month of August alone, 23.66 billion transactions took place via UPI. You will be astonished to hear their total value, which was approximately Rs 29.88 lakh crore,” Singh said, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron had called UPI “not just a tech story, but a civilisational story”.

Singh pointed out how digital payments infrastructure directly benefited lower-income groups, particularly street vendors. “Under PM SVANidhi scheme, street vendors were also provided collective collateral-free loans worth approximately Rs 80-85 thousand. And they used this money to expand their businesses. Friends, according to an estimate, the average annual income of these PM SVANidhi beneficiaries has increased by 20 per cent.”

The Defence Minister attributed these shifts to a structural evolution in India’s governance philosophy. “Modi Ji clearly believes that we must eliminate the ‘prohibited unless permitted’ approach and work with a ‘permitted unless prohibited’ approach instead,” Singh said, citing private sector entry into space and atomic energy as key achievements. “Just think before 2014, could you ever imagine that a private company in India would be able to launch its own satellite? It couldn’t even be imagined… Or that there would be private participation in the field of atomic energy, that too couldn’t be imagined.”

While UPI was originally kept free to encourage adoption, the Centre has recently notified a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on commercial merchant UPI transactions exceeding Rs 2,000. While peer-to-peer transfers and small merchant payments under ₹2,000 remain entirely exempt, critics maintain that retail prices may rise if larger merchants pass the 0.4 per cent cost on to the consumers.