India, Sept. 16 -- At 75, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi represents a rare convergence of personal discipline, political conviction, and national transformation. His life story, which began in the small town of Vadnagar in Gujarat, has become inseparable from India's own journey of economic growth, social reform, and global reassertion. As he reaches this milestone, Chhattisgarh too completes 25 years of its formation, creating a moment of shared reflection.

Between 2014 and 2018, I had the privilege of serving in his cabinet. Those years offered an inside view of his leadership - decisive, disciplined, and determined to ensure that resource-rich states like Chhattisgarh gained from national policies. Reforms to the Mines and Minerals...