Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that 10 years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought a sea change in the economy of the country and lifted the sentiments from a state of despondency in 2013, to one of optimism and hope of emerging as a developed country by 2047.
She was speaking at an interaction programme organised by the Thinkers Forum at the KSOU Auditorium, on Sunday. Ms. Sitharaman said that the general mindset of the people was one of despair that no government will ever meet the aspirations of the people and attributed it to what she described as ‘policy paralysis’ of 10 years under the previous government. She also refuted the remarks of the Opposition that the economy was poised to take off owing to the hard work of the previous regimes. Though the Opposition claims that they were the ones who brought in Aadhaar, initiated digitisation, right to food, right to employment, etc., theirs in effect was a paralysed economy, said Ms. Sitharaman.
Nothing happens automatically as being claimed by a section of the economists and those in the Opposition unless the government works on the policies and prepares the ground for their implementation, remarked the Finance Minister adding that the economy cannot grow automatically if the government was not focused on the right things like governance.
Foreign exchange reserve
The positive sentiment in the present about a developed India by 2047, is based on the real changes at the ground level all due to the hard work of 10 years under Prime Minister Modi, she added. India’s foreign exchange reserve which has reached over 642 billion dollars and is at an all-time high is an important indicator, said Ms. Sitharaman.
Digital infrastructure
The digital infrastructure of India was used in such a way that during COVID-19 India was able to scale up vaccination; information was provided about the date of second dose, kind of vaccines to be taken, etc., all of which were available on mobile phones of every individual, while the advanced countries were wondering how to scale up.
She said digitization is not only for payments or accessing world markets but for social welfare measures. In terms of finance management the digitization by way of Direct Benefit Transfer has helped save ₹3 lakh crore that would otherwise be lost through pilferage, said Ms. Sitharaman.
She said given the changes on the ground and the growth, it was important now that the country hurries to emerge as a developed one by 2047 when it completes 100 years of freedom. “Despite COVID-19, while other countries are struggling to recover, we are growing the fastest are now ranked 5th largest economy in the world. In the next few years we will probably be the third largest economy,” said Ms. Sitharaman.
Green initiatives
She also spoke at length on the green initiatives and other policies of the government and said they were not random steps but was part of a vision with which Prime Minister was pushing the country to gain the time which was lost because of the indifference of the earlier governments.
