PROMISE 01
2 crore jobs a year
- Made by
- Narendra Modi, campaign speeches, 2013–14 (reports differ on the exact figure)
- Deadline
- Every year, from 2014
The government says RBI's KLEMS database shows employment up by 16.83 crore between 2017-18 and 2023-24 — about 2.8 crore a year. KLEMS is a productivity database that derives its jobs figures from other sources, and critics say it does not count new jobs. On the record elsewhere: 7.22 lakh people were recommended for central government jobs out of 22.05 crore applications in eight years, and PLFS youth unemployment was 9.9% in 2025 (13.6% for urban youth). The promise can't be settled because no one agreed in advance what would be counted.
- Government estimate (RBI KLEMS)
- 16.83 crore jobs, 2017-18 → 2023-24
- Central government jobs, 2014-15 to 2021-22
- 7.22 lakh recommended · 22.05 crore applications
- Youth (15–29) unemployment, PLFS 2025
- 9.9% · urban youth 13.6%
- Youth unemployment, Apr–Jun 2026 (weekly status)
- 15.9%
PROMISE 02
Double farmers' income by 2022
- Made by
- PM Narendra Modi, 28 February 2016
- Deadline
- 2022-23
The government's own committee set the 2015-16 base at ₹8,059 a month and estimated about ₹21,146 was needed by 2022 once inflation was counted. The last full official survey (2018-19) found ₹10,218 a month — up from ₹6,426 in 2012-13, but under half the target — and it was taken three years into the promise. As of mid-2022, months before the deadline, the Centre had not published a fresh figure, according to Down To Earth.
- Base, 2015-16 (Dalwai committee)
- ₹8,059 a month
- Needed by 2022 to double in real terms
- ≈ ₹21,146 a month
- Last full official survey, 2018-19
- ₹10,218 a month (2012-13: ₹6,426)
PROMISE 03
Housing for All by 2022
- Made by
- Government of India — PMAY-Urban launched 25 June 2015; PMAY-Gramin from 2016
- Deadline
- 31 March 2022 (India's 75th year of Independence)
This one delivered at scale. By 13 July 2026, PMAY-Urban had sanctioned 127.68 lakh houses and completed 99.07 lakh, and the rural scheme had completed 1.65 crore houses by November 2021. But the urban mission's 2022 deadline was extended to December 2024 by the Union Cabinet and has been extended again since. A parliamentary committee reported more than 5.6 lakh completed houses in two verticals lying vacant, and PMAY-Urban spent only 19% of its budget in 2024-25. The rural target of 2.95 crore houses was pushed from 2022 to March 2024.
- PMAY-Urban sanctioned / completed (13 July 2026)
- 127.68 lakh / 99.07 lakh
- Original urban deadline → first extension
- 31 Mar 2022 → 31 Dec 2024
- Completed but vacant (two verticals, 2023)
- 5.6 lakh+ houses
PROMISE 04
₹15 lakh in every bank account
- Made by
- Campaign speeches on black money from November 2013 — never in the BJP's 2014 manifesto
- Deadline
- None was ever stated
Fact-checkers found that no manifesto or formal pledge promised ₹15 lakh to every account. The figure traces to campaign speeches about bringing back black money stashed abroad. In 2015, BJP president Amit Shah called the line a 'jumla' — election rhetoric — and said no one would be credited cash. It is still the promise many Indians remember first. That is the point: when promises live only in speeches, no one can say what was actually promised.
- In the 2014 BJP manifesto?
- No
- Earliest cited speech
- 7 November 2013, Kanker
PROMISE 05
Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train by August 2022
- Made by
- Government of India and NHSRCL; foundation stone laid 14 September 2017
- Deadline
- 15 August 2022
NHSRCL said in 2018 it expected completion by 2022, the 75th year of Independence. It did not happen. In January 2026 the Railways Minister said India's first bullet train will be ready by 15 August 2027, commissioned in phases, starting on the Surat–Bilimora stretch. The project is being built — the original date is what moved.
- Original target
- 15 August 2022
- Current target (first section)
- 15 August 2027
PROMISE 06
A $5 trillion economy by 2024-25
- Made by
- Union Budget 2019-20; repeated by ministers and the PM
- Deadline
- 2024-25
IMF data (April 2026 database) put India's GDP at about $3.76 trillion in 2024-25, cited by former Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg. Public messaging has since moved to becoming the third-largest economy by 2029. As reported by The Quint, the government has also told Parliament the PM never made the $5 trillion promise — another case where the record of what was promised is itself disputed.
- Target
- $5 trillion by 2024-25
- IMF estimate, 2024-25
- ≈ $3.76 trillion
PROMISE 07
Rejuvenate the Ganga (Namami Gange)
- Made by
- Union Government, June 2014
- Deadline
- 31 March 2021 (₹20,000 crore)
Namami Gange was launched for a period up to March 2021 with a ₹20,000 crore outlay, then extended to March 2026 with ₹22,500 crore. As of February 2026, 355 of 524 sanctioned projects (68%) were complete and ₹21,340 crore disbursed. Water-quality checks show pH and dissolved oxygen meeting bathing norms at monitored sites, but some stretches in Uttar Pradesh still fail on biochemical oxygen demand.
- Projects complete / sanctioned (Feb 2026)
- 355 / 524 (68%)
- Money disbursed (to 15 Mar 2026)
- ₹21,340 crore
- Mission period
- Mar 2021 → Mar 2026
PROMISE 08
Yamuna clean to bathing standard by February 2025
- Made by
- Delhi Government (AAP)
- Deadline
- February 2025
Delhi missed its December 2023 target to treat all its sewage, which made the February 2025 bathing-standard goal 'challenging', Deccan Herald reported in January 2025. At that time Delhi generated 792 million gallons of sewage a day; its plants treated 565 MGD, and only 237 MGD of that met the prescribed standards. Included here because this pattern is not one party's: it runs across governments.
- Sewage generated (Jan 2025)
- 792 MGD
- Treated / meeting standards
- 565 MGD / 237 MGD
What this ledger is — and isn't
- It is not a full audit. It is a set of well-known promises whose dates have passed. Governments have also delivered a great deal, and the register we propose would list those too.
- Every figure links to its source. Sources are tagged: government, independent, or viewpoint (an argument, not data). Where they disagree, we say so.
- “Missed” and “moved” are our reading of the public record. Corrections are welcome and will be noted on this page.
- We picked promises from more than one government on purpose. More will be added, including from your state.