BRICS Summit: PM Modi Says No Doubt In Coming Years, India Will Be Growth Engine Of World

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his visit for 3-days BRICS summit said believes India will be a growth engine for the world in the coming years without a doubt. He said nations under BRICS play a significant role in the world which is grappling with economic challenges. Nevertheless, he added, despite the turmoil in the global economy, India is currently the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

Modi landed arrived at Johannesburg, South Africa for the BRICS summit which began on August 22, and will continue till August 24.

He made remarks through the BRICS Business Forum. Modi said, "Over the past ten years, the BRICS Business Council has played a very important role in enhancing our economic cooperation."

The Indian PM explained that when the first BRICS summit was held in 2009, the world was coming out of a major economic crisis. At that time, BRICS was seen as a ray of hope for the global economy.

In the present time as well, amid the COVID pandemic, tensions, and conflicts, the world is grappling with economic challenges, he added, "In such times, the BRICS nations once again have a significant role to play."

Modi remarked that despite the turmoil in the global economy, India is currently the fastest-growing major economy in the world. He added, "Soon, India will become a five trillion-dollar economy."

"There is no doubt that in the coming years, India will be the Growth Engine of the world," Modi said. This is because India has transformed times of adversity and challenges into an opportunity for economic reforms.

In the past few years, Modi highlighted that the reforms his government has undertaken in mission mode have led to consistent improvement in the ease of doing business in India. He mentioned that the government has reduced the compliance burden, while the implementation of GST (Goods and Services Tax) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has boosted investor confidence.

Further, sectors like defence and space, which were previously restricted, have now been opened up for the private sector. He added, "We have particularly focused on public service delivery and good governance."

Also, he pointed out that through the use of technology, India has made a significant leap in financial inclusion.

PM Modi believes the greatest benefit of this has been received by the country's rural women. Currently, millions of people in India receive Direct Benefit Transfers with just a click, while over 360 billion dollars worth of such transfers have been made so far.

"This has increased transparency in service delivery, reduced corruption, and minimized middlemen," he added.

Also, India has the most affordable per gigabyte data prices.

Meanwhile, in the present times, from street vendors to large shopping malls, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is used for transactions. He said, "Today, India stands as the country with the highest number of digital transactions in the world." Not just that countries like the UAE, Singapore, and France are also joining this platform.

Modi believes there are numerous possibilities to work on this with BRICS countries as well.

For the infrastructure sector, Modi said, "The large-scale investments being made in India's infrastructure are changing the country's landscape." During this year's budget, the government allocated around 120 billion dollars for infrastructure. Through this investment, Modi believes that the government is laying a strong foundation for a new India of the future.

There are transformations also taking place rapidly in rail, road, waterways, and airways. He added new highways are being built in India at a pace of ten thousand kilometres per year. Additionally, the number of airports has doubled in the last 9 years.

To boost investment and production, Modi said, "We have introduced the Production Linked Incentives scheme.

While the reduction in logistics costs is making India's manufacturing sector more competitive. He added, "We are actively taking steps to make India a global manufacturing hub in sectors such as solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, and green ammonia."

In sectors like IT, Telecom, FinTech, AI, and semiconductors, Modi said, "We are promoting the vision of "Make in India, Make for the World."

"All these efforts have had a direct positive impact on the lives of the common people," Modi said.

He lastly concluded, "The people of India have pledged to build a developed nation by 2047."