There is confidence about India amidst growing regional conflict, says PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (file photo)

In the wake of expanding middle eastern conflict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 4 stressed on the importance of India even as world is ravaged by geopolitical uncertainties.

“Two regions, which are important from an energy security perspective, are in a war-like situation. Amidst this global uncertainty, we are talking about the Indian era. This shows that there is confidence in India,” the prime minister remarked at the third edition of Kautilya Economic Conclave.

The prime minister stressed on the performance of the Indian economy in FY24, highlighting that it had beaten forecasts from all major agencies and noted that India may repeat that task again this year.

“All major agencies have upgraded their forecasts for India, saying that India will continue to grow at 7 percent + rate. We will perform even better than this,” the PM said.

Indian economy grew 8.2 percent in FY24.

100 day success

The prime minister also highlighted that the country was working to retain the top spot in growth, while highlighting that the government in its first 100 days has taken steps to bring about structural reforms.

The government in August announced the setup of 12 new industrial hubs to spur manufacturing. The cabinet in its first decision also gave nod to construct 30 million new houses.

On October 3, the cabinet gave nod to programmes to support technology initiatives in agriculture.

“New opportunities will be created. We are undergoing transformational change, and on path of sustained high growth,” the PM, who won for a historic third term, said.

Modi also noted the work done on skilling and education highlighting the progress made on the front, especially with respect to the gains made on attracting Global Capability Centres.

“India is focusing on our demographic dividend. We have brought in New Education Policy, which has transformed the sector. A new University has been started every week and new college every second day. We are focusing on quality education, Indian institutes have tripled in QS World Ranking,” the PM stated.

Over 2 million youth in GCCs provide high skilled services to the world, which is testament to India's growing prowess, he said.

The also pointed out to the progress on semiconductor front, saying that India will attract Rs 1.5 lakh crore of investments and Indian chips will reach every part of the country, while also burnishing the record of production-linked incentive schemes to establish India as a manufacturing hub.

"We are in a sweet spot in science, technology and innovation," the PM said, pointing to improvement in the country's standing in Global Innovation Index.

India's  rank improved further to 39 in GII 2024 rankings, making it one of the five middle income countries to be ranked in top 40 positions.

Over 200 start-ups have emerged in the space sector, PM noted, alluding to gains made in new-age sectors.

“This is not just a debating club, we religiously follow the suggestions and do’s and don’ts given here and make it a part of our governance,” the PM said.