BENGALURU: In a retort to US President Donald Trump’s “India’s dead economy” remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Sunday asserted that India is the fastest growing economy in the world.
“In the last 11 years, our economy has gone from 10th place to top five. We are now moving rapidly towards becoming one of the top three economies,” he asserted at IIIT-B auditorium at Electronic City after inaugurating the Yellow Line of Bengaluru Metro rail and laying the foundation stone for Phase-3.
Attributing the momentum in the economy to the spirit of “Reform, Perform and Transform,” he said, “The journey to a Viksit Bharat will move forward hand in hand with Digital India and our next big priority should be becoming self-reliant in tech.”
Modi’s remarks were also aimed at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who had drawn economic parallels between the present NDA government and the UPA dispensation.
He said, “In 2014, India had only 74 airports, and now, there are over 160. Then, only three national waterways were operational, now there are 30. The country had only seven AIIMS and 387 medical colleges, but today, we have 22 AIIMS hospitals and 704 medical colleges, adding 1 lakh more medical seats in the past 11 years. The number of IITs has increased from 16 to 23, IIITs from 9 to 25, and IIMs from 13 to 21,” he said.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, over four crore pucca houses have been provided, while three crore more will be constructed. In the last 11 years, 12 crore toilets have been built, granting dignity, cleanliness and safety to crores of mothers and sisters, he claimed.
‘India’s exports rose from $468b to $824b’
“Before 2014, India’s total exports were only $468 billion, whereas now, that figure is $824 billion. India used to import mobile phones, but now, the country is among the top five exporters of mobile handsets and Bengaluru has played a significant role in this transformation,” Modi said.
India’s electronics exports were at $6 billion in 2014, which have risen to $38 billion. India’s automobile exports stood at approximately $16 billion, which have more than doubled, making India the fourth-largest automobile exporter, he elaborated.
Through the India AI Mission, India is advancing towards global AI leadership. The Semiconductor Mission too is gaining momentum, and there will soon be a Made-in-India chip, he said.
India has become a global example of low-cost, high-tech space missions, he said, emphasising that India is progressing in all areas of futuristic technologies. The most remarkable aspect of this advancement is the empowerment of the poor, he said. Pointing out that digitisation has reached every village, he said through UPI, India accounts for over 50% of the world’s real-time transactions. Technology is helping bridge the gap between government and citizens. Today, over 2,200 government services are available on mobile platforms, he said.
“Our next big priority should be becoming self-reliant in technology,” Modi declared, expressing confidence that Karnataka’s talent will lead the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Over the past decade, the central government has consistently advanced reforms, he said, citing the passage of Jan Vishwas Bill to decriminalise laws, and announced that Jan Vishwas 2.0 will come soon.