On Uttarakhand's 26th Foundation Day, 9 November 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a congratulatory message to the state that read less like routine pleasantries and more like a development scorecard — ticking off water access, new hospitals, landmark legal reform, and a ₹8,000-crore power project in one sweeping address. The Chief Minister's Office of Uttarakhand posted the full details on X, with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami responding with a formal expression of gratitude.

Jal Jeevan Mission's near-total rural coverage highlighted

The Prime Minister described tap-water access reaching over 98 per cent of rural households in Uttarakhand under the Jal Jeevan Mission as a 'significant achievement' — a phrase he reserved for only a handful of milestones in the message. The centrally-funded mission, launched nationally in 2019, aimed to end the daily burden of water collection that has historically fallen on rural women and girls in the hills. Uttarakhand's near-saturation figure positions it among the front-runners in the scheme's national implementation.

Four new medical colleges and the push for full literacy

Modi flagged the operationalisation of new medical colleges in Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Rudrapur, and Almora as a major expansion of healthcare access in a state whose mountain geography has long made specialist care a distant prospect for remote communities. On education, he cited the Central Sanskrit University campus in Devprayag, new Kendriya Vidyalayas, and PM SHRI schools as vehicles for quality learning — and called Uttarakhand's achievement of its full-literacy goal a landmark the state could be proud of.

Tehri Pumped Storage Plant and three dam projects

The energy section of Modi's message carried the biggest numbers. He spotlighted the Tehri Pumped Storage Plant — a 1,000-megawatt facility with an estimated cost of approximately ₹8,000 crore — as a centrepiece of Uttarakhand's power strategy. He also referenced ongoing work on the Lakhwar multipurpose project, the Jamrani Dam project, and the Song Dam drinking-water scheme, signalling that the state's water and energy infrastructure pipeline remains active on multiple fronts.

UCC cited as a national example; women's schemes and farmer support acknowledged

Perhaps the sharpest political note in the message was Modi's description of Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code — passed by the state assembly in 2024 and the first such law enacted by any Indian state after independence — as 'an example for the country.' He also praised the state's strict anti-copying law, conversion legislation, and transparency in land laws. For women's empowerment, he listed the Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission, PM Awas Yojana, and Lakhpati Didi Yojana as schemes that had made rural women's lives easier and enabled economic self-reliance. Farmers' direct income support through PM-KISAN, running since 2019, was called a pillar of rural economic strength.

National Games glory, the High Altitude Ultra Run, and Uttarakhand's cultural soul

Modi celebrated Uttarakhand's hosting of the National Games and athletes winning over 100 national-level medals as a source of pride for the state. He linked the High Altitude Ultra Run Marathon held in the upper Himalayas to a new identity for the state in adventure sports. The message closed on a cultural register — invoking the Nanda Devi Mela, Uttarayani Mela, Jageshwar Mela, Igas-Bagwal, Chholia dance, Phool Dei, and traditional foods including mandua ki roti (finger-millet flatbread), jhangore ki kheer, bal mithai, and singauri — describing folk traditions and cultural heritage as 'the soul of this state.'

CM Dhami's response and the 'Viksit Uttarakhand' pledge

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami responded by saying Modi's message and appreciation of the state's development journey were 'always a source of inspiration for the people of Uttarakhand.' He reaffirmed the state government's commitment to ensuring development reaches 'the last person standing at the edge of society' — every village, every young person, every farmer, every woman, and every border region. Both leaders anchored their messages to the shared slogan: 'Viksit Uttarakhand se Viksit Bharat' — 'From a Developed Uttarakhand to a Developed India.'

Twenty-six years after being carved out of Uttar Pradesh on 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand's Foundation Day message from the Prime Minister doubles as a governance manifesto — and the state government has accepted every word of it as a fresh mandate.