Of Modi government and its penchant for backronyms while naming its marquee schemes

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has a flair for naming its schemes and laws creatively, often using backronyms—an acronym designed to mimic a word — like Shakti, Shanti, Poshan, Prashad, or Mishti. Mint takes a look at a dozen of them and the programmes they represent.

1. PM POSHAN Scheme

Earlier known as the Mid-day meal scheme for children in government schools, the Modi government in 2021 created the backronym POSHAN, standing for Poshan Shakti Nirman. With an allocation of ₹1.3 trillion over the period of FY21-26 and the Centre covering about a trillion rupees, this is one of the largest government interventions in India.

POSHAN is a good example of backronyms, where designers come up with an acronym that is also a word. The word ‘Poshan’ means nutrition in Hindi, and some other Indian languages.

2. UDAN scheme

The UDAN scheme, launched in 2016 to widen the access to air travel for Indian citizens, has seen the central government spend at least ₹4,000 crore until April 2025 on viability gap funding (VGF) to incentivise airlines to operate on regional routes. UDAN is another example where it all came together for the people who named India's ambitious plan to create more air travel routes and airports across the country. The backronym stands for "Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik", roughly translating to "may the common citizen fly".

3. SHAKTI scheme

SHAKTI is a crucial part of coal sector reforms undertaken by the Modi government in its third term. The policy, introduced in 2017, was revised in mid-2025, and marked a shift of coal allocation mechanism from a nomination-based regime to a more transparent way of allocation of coal linkages through auction / tariff-based bidding.

This backronym play spans English and Hindi. It stands for "Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyla Transparently". Shakti means ‘power’ in Hindi and several Indian languages.

4. PRASHAD Scheme

Another backronym, this time from the Union tourism ministry: PRASHAD stands for "Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive", a scheme that began in FY15. Over the last three fiscal years, the government has allocated about ₹750 crore to this scheme, to support states on developing pilgrimage tourism spots with an aim to make them attractive and accessible for travellers who want a glimpse of India’s cultural heritage. Religious tourism is a crucial driver of revenues in this sector. Prashad in Hindi and other local languages refers to a sacred offering, mostly food, made to a deity.

5. USTTAD scheme

"Ustaad" is a Persian/Urdu word used to describe someone who has mastery over an art form. The USTTAD scheme by the ministry of minority affairs aimed to preserve traditional arts and crafts of minorities. Launched in 2015, the USTTAD stands for Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/ Crafts for Development. As of July 2020, the government had allocated roughly ₹200 crore under this scheme. This scheme was later subsumed under another big ticket backronym – PM VIKAS scheme, which stands for Virasat Ka Samvardhan, which translates to ‘enrichment and protection of heritage and legacy’. The PM VIKAS scheme had a budgetary outlay of about ₹270 crore in FY26.

6. PM KISAN Scheme

The PM KISAN scheme was launched in December 2018 to support small and marginal farmers in the country by giving them a ₹6,000 corpus annually in direct bank transfers. State governments identify eligible farmers and the central government then doles out the funds. Under this scheme, the government has disbursed over ₹3.46 trillion till February 2025. PM KISAN stands for Prime Minister Kisaan Samman Nidhi, meaning Farmer Tribute Fund.

7. PRAGATI platform

India's PRAGATI platform is a digital review mechanism created by the Indian government in 2015. The word 'Pragati' originates in Sanskrit and means 'progress'. For the digital reviewing system's backronym, however, PRAGATI expands to Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation. This platform has led to accelerated completion of projects and implementation of major schemes, said cabinet secretary TV Somanathan on 2 January.

8. MISHTI

A scheme to protect mangroves in Bengal as well as other regions is aptly called MISHTI -- Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes. It is an Indian government initiative to promote mangrove plantation along coastlines and saltpan areas.

Launched in June 2023 on World Environment Day, it aims to protect coastal ecosystems while generating livelihood opportunities for local communities, with a budgetary allocation of ₹100 crore in FY24. This backronym connects to Mishti, the Bengali word for 'sweet'.

9. SAGAR

One of India's key maritime policies was aptly named SAGAR -- Security And Growth of All in the Region. This initiative was launched in 2015 to create a safe and stable Indian Ocean region. It covered multiple key projects such as maintaining peaceful economic relations with other nations in the Indian Ocean region, reducing the threats from piracy and climate change, and creating a safe and secure environment in the region.

10. SHANTI Act

The NDA government in December 2025 passed a new law called SHANTI in the nuclear energy sector. The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025 promises massive reform in atomic energy, allowing private sector participation for the very first time, albeit with regulatory safeguards. The word ‘Shanti’, meaning peace, resonates with Mahatma Gandhi’s key principles of non-violence.

11. e-AMRIT, e-FAST

In its efforts to push electric mobility in India, the government has come up with a series of interesting names and acronyms. The government’s e-AMRIT portal for information on electric vehicles , for instance, stands for Accelerated e-Mobility Revolution for India's Transportation. It was started by the NITI Aayog, the government’s think tank, in 2021, at the COP26 in Glasgow.

Another NITI Aayog gem, e-FAST is a platform for increasing adoption of electric mobility, especially in freight transport, in the country by bringing all stakeholders within government and industry in one place. It stands for Freight Accelerator for Sustainable Transport.

12. PM E-DRIVE

While the above are platforms and portals operated by the government, the PM E-DRIVE scheme is a massive ₹10,900 crore scheme, running from FY25 to FY28, to reduce the high upfront cost of purchasing electric vehicles. The backronym stands for Prime Minister's Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement Scheme. The E-Drive scheme replaced its predecessor FAME schemes – another backronym that stood for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (and Hybrid) vehicles.