Parliamentary Democracies: 250 million Quit Poverty in India

Deepak Razdan

15 January, 2026

As the world struggles to draw up a peace agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine War and watches Iran’s anti-government protests, India is hosting a conference of Commonwealth Speakers to take stock how Parliaments are strengthening people’s faith in democratic institutions. The 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC), is being attended by about 60 Speakers and Presiding Officers of 42 Commonwealth nations and focusing on the centrality of people in democracies.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the conference on 15th January and narrated how Parliamentary democracy in the country had helped 250 million citizens come out of poverty. This, he said, proved wrong all those who doubted that India would not be able to deliver on development due to its vast diversity. India showed its diversity was really its strength, Modi said.

Speaking on the conference theme “Effective Delivery of Parliamentary Democracy,” he said India had proved democratic institutions and processes ensure stability, speed and scale. India is today the world’s fastest growing economy; its UPI is the world’s biggest digital payment system. India is the world’s largest producer of vaccines and No 2 producer of steel. The country has the world’s largest start-up eco-system.

India is the third largest aviation market of the world; it has the world’s third largest rail network, and ranks as the world’s largest milk producer. In India, Modi showed, Parliamentary democracy meant last mile delivery and it ensured governance benefits people and they progress in all ways.

Modi said many knew India as the world’s largest democracy. Truly, the scale of Indian democracy is extraordinary. Consider India’s general elections held in 2024, he said. This was the largest democratic exercise in human history. Nearly 980 million citizens were registered to vote. The number is larger than the population of some continents. There were more than 8,000 candidates and over 700 political parties. The elections saw a record participation by women voters.

Today, he said, Indian women are not only participating, but are also leading the way. The President of India, India’s first citizen, is a woman. The Chief Minister of Delhi, is a woman. In rural and local government bodies, India has about 1.5 million elected women representatives. They represent almost 50 percent of the leaders at the grassroots, which is globally unparalleled.

The Indian democracy is rich in diversity, the Indian Prime Minister said. Hundreds of languages are spoken. There are over 900 television channels across different languages. Thousands of newspapers and periodicals are published. Very few societies manage diversity at this scale, Modi said.

“India celebrates such diversity because our democracy has a strong foundation. Our democracy is like a large tree supported by deep roots,” the Indian Prime Minister said. “We have a long tradition of debate, dialogue and collective decision-making. India is called the Mother of Democracy,” he said.

“Our sacred texts, the Vedas, are over 5,000 years old. They refer to assemblies where people met to discuss issues. Decisions were taken after discussion and agreement. We are the land of Bhagwan Buddha. The Buddhist Sangha used to have open and structured discussions. Decisions were taken through consensus or voting,” Modi said.

In the transformation the world is passing through today, India is speaking for the Global South at every forum, he said. During its G20 presidency, India brought the concerns of the Global South at the centre of the global agenda. India’s constant effort is that whatever innovations its makes, they should benefit the entire Global South and the Commonwealth countries. “We are also building open-source tech platforms so that our partner countries in the Global South can develop systems similar to those in India,” Modi said.

India’s Speaker Om Birla drew attention to the rapid technological transformation reshaping societies and governance. He observed that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media have enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of democratic institutions, but caution was needed regarding their rising misuse.

Birla said there were serious concerns such as misinformation, cybercrime and social polarisation. The Speaker said it is a collective responsibility of legislatures to engage seriously with these challenges and evolve appropriate solutions. There was need to support ethical AI and credible, transparent and accountable social media frameworks in safeguarding democratic values. Birla expressed confidence that the Conference would enable legislatures to harness technology in an ideal and responsible manner.

Highlighting India’s experience, Birla shared that the use of AI and digital technologies is steadily increasing in the Indian Parliament and State Legislatures. He said that legislative institutions are being progressively made paperless and integrated through a unified digital platform, setting new benchmarks in transparency, efficiency and accessibility.

The Indian Speaker observed that through the collective efforts of Parliament and Government, India has repealed several obsolete and unnecessary laws, enacted new welfare-oriented legislations and framed policies aligned with the aspirations of the people, noting that these initiatives have accelerated India’s progress towards the goal of becoming a developed and self-reliant nation.

Reflecting on India’s parliamentary journey of over seven decades, Birla underlined that India has consistently strengthened its democratic institutions through people-centric policies, welfare-oriented legislation and an impartial and robust electoral system. These efforts, he noted, have ensured inclusive participation of citizens in the democratic process and deepened public faith in democracy.

India’s Speaker Om Birla addressing the 28th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) in the Central Hall of India’s old Parliament building, renamed Samvidhan Sadan, on 15th January, 2026.