India in Position to Help Lift the World Out of Slow Growth: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that guided by the mantra of reform, perform, and transform, India is in a position to help lift the world out of slow growth.

Addressing the Economic Times World Leaders Forum here, the Prime Minister said India will soon become the world's third-largest major economy, and is on the way to becoming a developed nation by 2047.

Observing that reform is a matter of commitment and conviction for his government, Modi said the next-generation GST reform process, which seeks to make the law simpler, will be completed before Diwali and bring down prices.

The Prime Minister also asked the private sector to increase investment in research and development in sectors like clean energy, quantum technology, battery storage, advanced materials and biotechnology. This will strengthen the resolve of a developed India.

"It is not in my nature to be satisfied with what has already been achieved. The same approach guides our reforms," he said.

"For us, reforms are neither a compulsion nor crisis-driven, but a matter of commitment and conviction." The Prime Minister said the government is going to bring a comprehensive new set of reforms.

"With this arsenal of next-generation reforms, manufacturing in India will increase, market demand will rise, the industry will receive a new boost, new employment opportunities will be created, and both Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business will improve," he pointed out.

The government continued to carry out reforms during the just concluded monsoon session of Parliament despite disruptions by Opposition parties, he said.

"Guided by the mantra of Reform, Perform, Transform, India today is in a position to help lift the world out of slow growth," Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that in the global context, one can realise the strength of India's economy.

"Today, India is the world's fastest-growing major economy. We are going to become the world's third-largest economy very soon. Experts are saying that India's contribution to world growth is going to be around 20 per cent very soon," he added.

He said this growth and resilience in the economy are due to the macroeconomic stability that India has achieved in the last decade. Today, the fiscal deficit is expected to come down to 4.4 per cent.

Regarding the fundamentals of the economy, Modi said Indian companies are raising record funds from the capital markets, banks are stronger than ever before, inflation is very low, and interest rates are also low.

The current account deficit is under control, forex reserves are also robust, and every month lakhs of domestic investors are investing thousands of crores of rupees in the market through SIPs.

"You also know that when the fundamentals of the economy are strong, its foundation is strong, then its effect is also seen everywhere," he said.

The Prime Minister said India is working with full force toward its goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047, and the basis of a developed India is a self-reliant India.

He also pointed out that the country needs to focus on three parameters for a self-reliant India -- speed, scale, and scope.

Referring to a commonly used phrase -- 'Missing the Bus' -- to illustrate how opportunities, if not seized, can pass by, Modi said that previous governments in India missed several such buses of opportunity in the fields of technology and industry.

But post-2014, Modi said, India changed its approach and resolved not to miss any more buses, but instead to take the driving seat and move forward.

He said India developed its entire 5G stack domestically.

The country is now rapidly working on Made-in-India 6G technology, he added.

The Prime Minister said that until 2014, India’s automobile exports stood at approximately Rs 50,000 crore annually. Today, India exports automobiles worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore a year.

He also informed that India has now begun exporting metro coaches, rail coaches, and rail locomotives.

Modi also shared that India is set to achieve another milestone by exporting electric vehicles to 100 countries, and a major event related to this achievement will take place on August 26.