BERLIN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that a new resurgent India had made up its mind to move forward with determination and urged the Indian diaspora to help the country take big strides globally.
Addressing the Indian community here, Modi said the young and aspirational India understood the need for political stability to achieve faster development and had ended three decades of instability by mere touch of a button.
"This time of the 21st century is very important for India. Today's India has made up its mind, it is moving ahead with determination. When the country makes a resolve, then that country walks on new paths and shows it by achieving desired goals," Modi said.
The Prime Minister's hour-long address to the Indian community was peppered with slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai', 'Modi hai toh mumkin hai' and '2024, Modi Once More' by the ecstatic crowd gathered at the Theater Am Postdamer Platz here.
Modi said that over the past eight years, India has been making rapid strides in every sector ease of living, quality of life, ease of employment, quality of education, ease of doing business, quality of travel, quality of products.
"New India now does not think about a secure future, but is ready to take risks, ready to innovate and incubate. India, which had 200-400 start-ups around 2014, today is home to 68,000 start ups and dozens of unicorns...some of whom have already become deca-corns with 10 billion dollars valuation," Modi said.
Recounting the success of the digital payment mechanism, the prime minister said India's share in real time digital payments world over is more than 40 per cent.
He said the government too was using the digital payment mechanism to make payments to farmers directly in their bank accounts.
In an apparent dig at the Congress, Modi said now no prime minister will have to lament that he sends one rupee, but only 15 paise reaches the intended beneficiary.
"Woh kaunsa panja tha jo 85 paise ghis leta tha (which palm was it that used to take away 85 paise)," he quipped.
He said in the last eight years, his government has transferred more than Rs 22 lakh crore to beneficiaries through direct benefit transfer.