“India will play a leading role in the global revival story,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “and two factors will play a part—Indian talent, and country's ability to reform and rejuvenate.”
The green shoots of economic recovery were already visible, he asserted.
Modi, who was addressing his first global engagement since the start of the pandemic, through a video conference, said India’s revival was a revival with care, revival with compassion and revival which is sustainable—both for the environment and the economy.
Addressing the India Global Week, an event organised by a UK-based group which saw participation of 5,000 delegates, Modi spoke about the current initiatives of the government during the pandemic as the focus was on health management and managing the economy.
Modi hailed the Indian talent which includes doctors, nurses, bankers, lawyers, scientists, professors, labourers and tech professionals which was contributing to the global revival story. “Indians are natural reformers. History has shown that India has overcome every challenge, be it social or economic. India has done so with a spirit of reform and rejuvenation. The same spirit continues now.”
Talking about the work done during the last six years, Modi said the country has made big advancements in financial inclusion, housing and infrastructure construction, ease of doing business, bold tax reforms including the GST and roll out of the world's largest health care initiative—Ayushman Bharat.
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Modi referred to work done during the pandemic which included providing free food and launching world's largest public works programme to provide employment to millions of workers. “This will not only re-energise the rural economy, but also help in creation of durable infrastructure in the rural areas,” he added.
As the country was laying the red carpet for global companies to come and set up shop here, PM explained the government's thinking: “Atmanirbhar Bharat merges domestic production and consumption with global supply chains. Atmanirbhar Bharat is not about being self-contained or being closed to the world. It is about being self-sustaining and self-generating.”
He added: “Our reforms in agriculture provide a very attractive investment opportunity to invest in storage and logistics. We are opening the doors to investors to come and invest directly in the hard-work of our farmers. We have brought reforms in the MSME sector. A booming MSME sector will also complement big industry. There are investment opportunities in the defence sector. With relaxed FDI norms, one of the world's biggest militaries invites you to come and make products for it. The pandemic has once again shown that India's pharma industry is an asset not just for India but for the entire world."
