Narendra Modi is the current Prime Minister of India. He is also the first non-Congress Prime Minister to have returned to power with a landslide victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He was born on September 17, 1950, in Mehsana, Gujarat.
Modi has been responsible for the launch of various schemes and reforms, including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Make in India, Swachh Bharat Yojana, Shrameva Jayate, Digital India, Smart cities flagship launch, Skill India and Startup India, to name a few. Modi is the first to invite leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation to attend his swearing-in ceremony. His move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes received a mixed response from the public but that did not dent his image as he returned back to power with a bigger win.
The NDA, during its first stint, was also plagued with many allies, like the TDP, quitting midway. However, Centre's response in the form of the Balakot airstrike to the Pulwama terror attack of February 2019 was much appreciated throughout the country and that could have translated into votes for the BJP and its allies.
Some important decisions taken by the Modi government soon after returning to power in May 2019 are getting the Triple Talaq bill passed in Parliament and Abrogation of Article 370 which provided special status to J&K. Now J&K has been bifurcated into two Union Territories.
PM Modi has connected with the people through his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio programme which was started on October 3, 2014.
He had entered BJP in 1987 and became the national secretary of the party in 1998. He has served Gujarat as a Chief Minister for four terms from 2001-2014.
In 2014, 2015 and 2017, Modi was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World. He was also declared the winner of the Time magazine reader's poll for Person of the Year in 2014 and 2016. Forbes Magazine ranked him the 15th-Most-Powerful Person in the World in 2014 and the 9th-Most-Powerful Person in the World in 2015, 2016 and 2018. In 2016, a wax statue of Modi was unveiled at Madame Tussaud Wax Museum in London.
In October 2018, Modi received UN's highest environmental award, the 'Champions of the Earth', for policy leadership by "pioneering work in championing" the International Solar Alliance and "new areas of levels of cooperation on environmental action". He was conferred with the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize in recognition of his dedication to improving international cooperation, raising global economic growth, accelerating the Human Development of the people of India by fostering economic growth and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts. He is the first Indian to win the award. A biopic PM Narendra Modi has also been made on his life. Following his second swearing-in ceremony as Prime Minister of India, a picture of Modi was displayed on the facade of the ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
PM Modi has also featured in a special episode of Discovery Channel's show Man vs Wild on August 12, 2019, becoming the second world leader after Barack Obama to appear in the adventure/survival show. In the show, with the host Bear Grylls, Modi trekked the jungles and talked about nature and wildlife conservation. The episode was shot in Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand.
Modi has co-authored Setubandh a biography of RSS leader in 2001, in 2007 a book comprising collections of his poems called as Aankh aa Dhanya Che was published and also Exam Warriors, a children's book.