CHENNAI: The idea behind India being put on the fast track to growth should be that everyone is gainfully employed with focus on human development, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Saturday.
“We must make income available for everyone, but also ensure it adds to the human dignity. Economic growth and human development must go hand-in-hand,” he said, while delivering the 33rd Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture at Ethiraj College for Women on Saturday.
Deliberating on the topic, ‘Putting India on Fast Track’, Prabhu said the past approach of letting the government decide everything is no longer valid.
“The ideal combination would be to promote entrepreneurship, which has been essential to the Indian growth story, with the government taking on role of an enabler,” he said. He elaborated on the functions to be executed by the government, namely creating infrastructure, ensuring law and order and creating regulatory systems.
Creating infrastructure is vital as it creates jobs and leads to increased economic activity. He cited the example of his own ministry, where low investment has declined railways market share but steps are being taken now to set right the situation.