Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday, 18 June 2026 lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's twelve-year tenure, saying India has written a new chapter by advancing development and heritage together. Chouhan, posting on X under the hashtag #12YearsOfVikasBhiVirasatBhi, said the country has simultaneously established new dimensions of progress while restoring prestige to its cultural heritage, centres of faith, and civilisational values.

Context

In the post, Chouhan wrote — 'बीते 12 वर्षों में भारत ने विकास और विरासत को साथ लेकर आगे बढ़ने का एक नया अध्याय लिखा है' ('In the past 12 years, India has written a new chapter of moving forward with both development and heritage'). He added that the country's cultural identity has not merely been preserved but has been connected to the mainstream of national consciousness and development. The post marks the completion of twelve years of the Modi government, which took office in May 2014.

Chouhan further noted that significant efforts have been made to strengthen cultural identity and connect coming generations to their roots. He concluded that the balance between modernity and culture, progress and tradition, is giving new strength to the resolve of a Viksit Bharat ('Developed India').

Policy Backdrop

The 'Vikas bhi, Virasat bhi' ('Development as well as Heritage') framing has been a recurring motif across the central government since 2014. Programmes such as the PRASAD scheme (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) and the Swadesh Darshan programme have channelled infrastructure investment into religious and cultural tourism circuits, linking economic activity directly to heritage sites.

The broader policy arc has seen the government justify projects ranging from temple corridor development to cultural festivals and curriculum updates under this dual narrative. The framing cuts across ministries, making it a whole-of-government positioning rather than the mandate of any single department.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries cited in this narrative are Indian citizens and the country's youth, who the government argues will be better anchored to civilisational roots even as they participate in a modernising economy. Pilgrimage towns, artisan communities, and cultural institutions have been among the direct recipients of heritage-linked investment under successive Union budgets.

Critics of the framing have argued that the balance between development metrics and cultural programming requires scrutiny on outcomes, though Chouhan's post does not engage with any such critique. The post is a political affirmation rather than a policy announcement, and no new scheme or expenditure figure is cited.

What's Next

With the Modi government now in its third term, analysts will watch upcoming Union budgets and Independence Day addresses for announcements of additional heritage-linked tourism circuits or cultural-education initiatives that could give programmatic substance to the 'Vikas bhi, Virasat bhi' slogan. Chouhan's own ministry — Agriculture and Rural Development — has separately pursued rural infrastructure schemes, and any convergence between rural development funding and cultural-heritage preservation in village clusters would be consistent with this broader government narrative. The hashtag's traction on social media also signals that BJP is likely to continue amplifying the twelve-year milestone in the weeks ahead.