Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called India’s private sector a strong medium for creating a Viksit Bharat, saying that wealth creators are the main driving force of India’s growth story.
“Our government has no lack of political will. For us, the aspirations of the country and its citizens are paramount,” the prime minister said while addressing the inaugural session of ‘Journey Towards Viksit Bharat: A Post Union Budget 2024-25 Conference’ organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Vigyan Bhawan here.
He said India’s policies, commitment, determination, decisions and investments are becoming the basis of global progress.
Pointing towards the growing interest in India among global investors, the prime minister informed about his call in the recent meeting of the NITI Aayog to the state Chief Ministers for creating investor-friendly charters, bringing clarity in investment policies and creating a conducive atmosphere for investment.
He emphasised that India’s contribution to global growth has reached 16 percent despite significant global shocks like the pandemic, natural disasters and wars.
India’s contribution to global goods and services export is consistently increasing, the prime minister said.
Referring to the uncertainties of the current global scenario, Modi highlighted the exception of India’s growth and stability. He said India’s foreign exchange reserve witnessed robust growth and India is showing high growth and low inflation in a low-growth and high-inflation global scenario. The prime minister also called India’s fiscal prudence during the pandemic, a role model for the world.
“Nation is moving forward with the resolutions of Viksit Bharat,” PM Modi said as he mentioned that 25 crore people have risen out of poverty in the last 10 years, and emphasised the government’s efforts to increase ease of living and boost quality of life.
Referring to the discussions during the pandemic with the business community regarding apprehensions about the growth, Modi remembered the optimism that he expressed at the time and mentioned the rapid growth that the country is witnessing today.
“Today we are discussing – Journey towards Viksit Bharat. This is not just the change of sentiment, this reflects a change in confidence,” he said, reiterating India’s position as 5th largest economy in the world and rapid strides towards the 3rd place.
Putting forth some facts from the recently presented Budget, the prime minister compared the current Budget of Rs 48 lakh crore with Rs 16 lakh crore Budget of 2013-14, an increase of three times.
“Capital Expenditure, the biggest measure of resource investment was 90 thousand crore rupees in 2004, which was taken to 2 lakh crore in the 10 years upto 2014, a 2 times increase. In comparison, this important indicator has reached beyond Rs 11 lakh crore today a more than 5 times increase,” he said.
Reiterating that his government is determined to look after every sector of the Indian economy, the prime minister said, “If you will look at different sectors, you will get an idea as to how India is focussing on each one of them.”
Drawing a comparison with the previous government, Modi said in the last 10 years, the budgets of railways and highways have seen an increase of 8 times. Meanwhile, the agricultural and defence budgets have witnessed a jump of more than 4 and 2 times, respectively.
He emphasised that the record increase in every sector’s budget has been carried out after record deductions in tax.
Modi informed, “In 2014, MSMEs earning Rs 1 crore had to pay presumptive tax, now MSMEs with income up to Rs 3 crore can also take advantage of this. In 2014, MSMEs earning up to Rs 50 crore had to pay 30 per cent tax, today this rate is 22 percent. In 2014, companies used to pay 30 per cent corporate tax, today this rate is 25 per cent for companies with income up to Rs 400 crore.”
The prime minister said this Union Budget was not just about budget allocation and tax reduction, but also about good governance.
Modi recalled that before 2014, big announcements used to be made in the budgets to create a facade of a healthy economy.
“However, the very announcements did not see the day of light when it came to their implementation on the ground. They were unable to spend even the allocated sum on infrastructure completely, but the headlines used to be made during the time of announcements. Share markets also used to register small jumps, and their governments never prioritized completing projects on time,” he said.
“We have changed this situation in the last 10 years. You all have witnessed the speed and scale at which we are completing every infrastructure project,” Modi added.
The prime minister said the government’s intent and commitment are very clear and there is no diversion in its direction. The Commitment of ‘Nation First’ is reflected in the 5 trillion dollar economy goal, saturation approach, emphasis on Zero Effect-Zero Defect and pledge of Aatmnirbhar Bharat or Viksit Bharat. He highlighted the focus and emphasis on expansion and monitoring of schemes.
He touched upon the aspect of manufacturing in the Budget. Modi mentioned Make in India and simplification of FDI rules in various sectors along with multi purpose logistics parks, PLI for 14 sectors.
He said this Budget has announced plug-and-play investment-ready investment parks for 100 districts of the country. “These 100 cities will become new hubs of Viksit Bharat,” he added.
Modi said his government will also modernise the existing industrial corridors.
Sharing his government’s vision to empower the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the prime minister said they have addressed the challenges faced by them along with providing them with the required facilities.
“We have been working continuously since 2014 to ensure that MSMEs get required working capital and credit, their market access and prospects are improved and they are formalised,” Modi said, adding that they have further ensured tax reduction and less compliance burden for them.
Highlighting that opportunities are being created, especially in the sunrise sectors as India is on the onset of becoming the third-largest economy in the world, the prime minister expressed the need to make a name in the Semiconductor Value Chain to play a crucial role in the future. Therefore, the Prime Minister said, the government is laying emphasis on promoting the semiconductor industry.
“Our industries and entrepreneurs have always shown their commitment to the development of the country,” the prime minister said, expressing confidence that they will play a key role in making India a global player in all the sunrise sectors.
Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister For Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Sanjiv Puri were present on the occasion.