Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday, June 15, 2026, credited the Narendra Modi government with transforming the lives of middle-class families over the past twelve years, citing advances in higher education, healthcare, digital connectivity, trade access, and renewable energy.

Context

Posting under the hashtag #12YearsOfSakshamMiddleClass, Joshi wrote that 'the middle class has been empowered like never before' under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The post accompanied a video and enumerated a broad set of policy interventions spanning education, energy, and digital infrastructure as evidence of that empowerment.

The phrase saksham — meaning 'capable' or 'empowered' in Hindi — frames the messaging around self-reliance and upward mobility for urban and semi-urban households, a demographic the BJP has consistently courted since 2014.

Policy Backdrop

Among the specific schemes Joshi highlighted is the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, a central government programme launched in February 2024 that subsidises rooftop solar installations and aims to provide households up to 300 units of free electricity every month. The scheme was announced in the 2024-25 Union Budget and is administered through Joshi's own ministry of new and renewable energy.

On the education front, the government expanded the network of Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) after 2014, establishing new campuses in tier-2 cities including Bodh Gaya, Jammu, Sirmaur, and Sambalpur between 2015 and 2021. Joshi's post specifically referenced 'premier colleges in Tier-2 cities' as part of the middle-class empowerment narrative, pointing to this geographic expansion of elite institutions beyond the four metros.

Successive Union Budgets since 2014 have also introduced health coverage measures, trade facilitation steps, and digital public infrastructure — all cited by the minister as components of a broader strategy to raise living standards for the aspirational middle class.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries named in the post are middle-class families across India. The PM Surya Ghar scheme, if fully utilised, can significantly reduce monthly electricity expenditure for eligible households, though the benefit of zero bills is contingent on individual consumption patterns and installation status.

The expansion of IIMs and other premier institutions to tier-2 cities directly addresses a long-standing demand from aspirational families outside metropolitan areas who sought access to top-tier management and professional education without relocating to Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, or Kolkata. Digital connectivity and trade opportunity references in the post align with programmes such as BharatNet and the expansion of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), though Joshi did not name specific schemes beyond PM Surya Ghar.

What's Next

State-wise progress reports on PM Surya Ghar rooftop solar installations and beneficiary data are expected to feature in forthcoming Union Budget documents and ministry releases, which will provide a clearer picture of on-ground uptake. The political messaging around twelve years of the Modi government is likely to intensify as the BJP positions its governance record before state-level electoral cycles. How the middle-class empowerment narrative translates into specific policy announcements — particularly on income tax relief, healthcare expansion, and education affordability — will be closely watched in the months ahead.