At 76, PM Narendra Modi’s journey runs from a Gujarat town to the world stage

Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 76 on Thursday, September 17, marking another birthday in a political career that has taken him from Vadnagar in Gujarat to the country's highest elected office and, over the past 12 years, to the centre of India's engagement with the world.

Modi was born on September 17, 1950, in Vadnagar, then a small town in north Gujarat's Mehsana district. According to his official biography on the Prime Minister's Office website, he grew up in a family of modest means and helped his family at a tea stall. The PMO describes his childhood as one in which he balanced studies with work and developed an interest in reading and debates.

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The railway station in Vadnagar later became an important part of the account of Modi's early life. A 2013 India Today report, citing author Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's book The Anatomy of Narendra Modi, said Modi helped his father sell tea to passengers at the station as a child.

The years that shaped the politician

Modi's political journey began with his association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). His official biography says his formative years included a period of travel across India before he moved to Ahmedabad and became involved with the RSS. He subsequently worked in the organisation before moving into the BJP's organisational structure.

In a 2025 conversation with podcaster Lex Fridman, Modi said the RSS gave him what he described as a clear direction and a sense of purpose, adding that the organisation taught him to approach his work with a larger national objective.

His years in political organisation preceded his move to elected office. In October 2001, Modi became chief minister of Gujarat, a position he held until May 2014. The PMO identifies him as Gujarat's longest-serving chief minister.

From Gujarat to Delhi

The next major chapter came in 2014, when Modi led the BJP's campaign in the Lok Sabha election. The BJP won 282 seats, giving it a majority on its own, and Modi was sworn in as prime minister on May 26, 2014. The PMO describes him as the first prime minister to have been born after India's Independence.

His first government launched and expanded programmes covering financial inclusion, sanitation, manufacturing and digital services. The PMO's account of his tenure lists initiatives including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India among the programmes associated with his government.

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Modi returned as prime minister after the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In June 2024, he was sworn in for a third consecutive term after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance formed the government.

A longer tenure, a larger global role

By 2026, Modi's time in government had itself become a milestone. On June 10, the Union Cabinet said he had completed 4,399 days of continuous service as an elected prime minister, surpassing Jawaharlal Nehru's previous record of 4,398 days. The record refers specifically to continuous service as an elected prime minister.

The milestone was followed by messages from several foreign leaders. The PMO said leaders including the prime ministers of Italy, Denmark, Greece, Germany, Canada and Israel congratulated Modi on becoming India's longest-serving elected prime minister.

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Foreign policy has become a significant part of Modi's time in office. The PMO maintains a record of his foreign visits since May 2014, covering engagements with governments and international institutions across regions. As of September 2, 2026, the official database continued to list details of his foreign and domestic visits.

His international agenda has also included India's engagement with multilateral groupings and the Global South. One of the initiatives associated with his international outreach was the proposal at the United Nations for an International Day of Yoga. The PMO says the proposal received support from 177 countries and led to June 21 being observed as International Yoga Day.

The Vadnagar connection

Even after more than a decade in national office, Vadnagar remains a recurring reference point in Modi's public account of his life.

In a conversation with entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath, Modi described Vadnagar as a small town in Mehsana district and spoke about its educational traditions, including its library.

In January 2026, while speaking at an event related to Buddhist relics, Modi also referred to Vadnagar as his birthplace and said it had been a centre of Buddhist learning and tradition. He said archaeological discoveries connected with Buddhism had been made there during his tenure as Gujarat chief minister.

From that town, his career has passed through the RSS, the BJP organisation, the Gujarat chief minister's office and, since 2014, the Prime Minister's Office.

As Modi turns 76, his biography therefore spans several distinct phases: a childhood in Vadnagar, years in political organisation, more than a decade running Gujarat and now more than 12 years leading the Union government. The latest milestone came in June, when his continuous tenure as an elected prime minister crossed the previous record held by Nehru.

His birthday on September 17 offers another marker in that chronology — one that began in a small Gujarat town and has since extended across India's political institutions and its diplomatic engagements around the world.