Liberalised India to today
Economic reforms, local self-government, nuclear tests, the IT boom, digital public infrastructure, missions to the Moon and Mars, and a growing role in the world.
How it was ruled
The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) gave constitutional status to panchayats and municipalities. Article 370 was abrogated in 2019 and Jammu & Kashmir was reorganised into two Union Territories.
How people lived
Mobile phones and the internet reached villages; the Right to Information Act (2005) and MGNREGA (2005) changed governance and rural work; Aadhaar and UPI made services and payments digital.
What people did
Services and software exports grew fast; manufacturing, start-ups and infrastructure expanded.
What people ate
The National Food Security Act (2013) gave subsidised grain to most households; millets were promoted as Shree Anna in 2023.
Trade
India opened up to world trade; GST (1 July 2017) created a single national market.
Region by region
- Rajasthan: Pokhran-II nuclear tests, May 1998.
- Ladakh: Victory at Kargil, 1999 (Kargil Vijay Diwas, 26 July).
- Karnataka: Bengaluru became the centre of India's IT and start-up industry.
- Andhra Pradesh: Chandrayaan-3 launched from Sriharikota landed near the Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023.
- Delhi: The G20 Leaders' Summit (2023) and the new Parliament building (2023).
- Uttar Pradesh: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple at Ayodhya consecrated (2024); the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj (2025).
Key events
- 1991: Economic liberalisation
- 1998: Pokhran-II
- 2017: GST introduced
- 2019: Article 370 abrogated
- 2023: Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole
Legacy
Today's digital India, space programme, and a democracy of nearly a billion voters.