Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday, 19 June 2026, took to X to mark what the #12YearsOfIndiaFirst campaign frames as a decade-plus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy vision, crediting the BJP-led government with elevating India's global standing in healthcare, humanitarian assistance, development partnerships and diplomacy.

Context

Sawant's post arrives as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) marks 12 years of the Modi government's 'India First' doctrine — a foreign-policy posture that, since May 2014, has emphasised strategic autonomy, multi-alignment and an expanded role for India as a provider of global public goods. The Chief Minister wrote: 'A confident, compassionate and self-reliant India is leading with trust, partnership and the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam [the world is one family].'

The hashtag #12YearsOfIndiaFirst signals a coordinated party-wide messaging effort, with BJP leaders at the state level amplifying the central government's foreign-policy narrative ahead of upcoming multilateral engagements.

Policy Backdrop

The 'India First' framework has translated into several concrete initiatives over the past 12 years. The Neighbourhood First policy, prioritised from 2014, deepened connectivity and development assistance with immediate neighbours. The Vaccine Maitri initiative, launched in 2020, supplied Indian-manufactured COVID-19 vaccines to more than 150 countries, cementing India's identity as a humanitarian partner.

India's G20 presidency in 2023 adopted Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — a phrase drawn from ancient Sanskrit philosophy — as its official theme, reflecting the government's effort to blend soft-power cultural narratives with hard-power multilateral ambitions. Sawant's invocation of the same phrase directly echoes that diplomatic branding.

India has simultaneously pursued a 'multi-alignment' approach, maintaining ties with Washington, Moscow and Beijing while expanding its voice in forums representing the Global South. This has positioned New Delhi as a bridge between the Global North and developing economies on issues ranging from climate finance to digital infrastructure.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of India's expanded development diplomacy have been Global South nations across Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia, which have received vaccines, lines of credit and technical assistance under various bilateral and multilateral frameworks. India's pharmaceutical industry — centred on Pune and Hyderabad — has been a direct instrument of this health diplomacy.

Domestically, the '12 Years of India First' campaign reinforces BJP's electoral narrative that Modi's tenure has restored India's prestige abroad. For Goa, a state with a significant tourism economy and cross-border cultural ties to Portugal and the wider Lusophone world, alignment with a confident foreign-policy posture carries both symbolic and economic resonance.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to India's participation in upcoming BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits, where New Delhi is expected to advance new health diplomacy and digital-infrastructure partnership proposals. Any announcements on fresh lines of credit, vaccine-technology transfers or South-South cooperation frameworks will be seen as tangible deliverables underpinning the 'India First' anniversary messaging.

As India consolidates its identity as a trusted global partner, the pressure will grow to translate the philosophical promise of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam into durable institutional commitments — a test that will define the next chapter of the country's foreign-policy ambitions.