MC EXCLUSIVE PM Modi wants time bound-decision making, transparency: Nitin Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a nearly three-hour-long meeting with top ministers, bureaucrats and members of the Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC) earlier this week as the Indian economy faces increasing volatility due to US trade tariffs.

The agenda of the meeting was to seek inputs on the next generation reforms in the country.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who was also present at the meeting, told Moneycontrol that the suggestions received were useful and that the Prime Minister’s message is to push for "time-bound decision making, corruption-free system and full transparency".

He added that administrative reforms will be a priority.

The Modi government has set a goal for India to become a $5 trillion economy in its third term.

It has already taken a slew of measures in the last decade to facilitate investments into the country, right from opening up of sectors to bringing in a bankruptcy code, rationalization of goods and services tax (GST), decriminlisation of laws, among others.

"In all aspects, from laws to economic policies, we have made India a liberal economy. We have brought in transparency. We have created an investor-friendly environment. People feel very positively about the work that has happened,” he said.

He added that in the next-generation reforms, PM Modi has asked for time-bound decision making process and full transparency.

"Administrative reforms will be a priority. AI is being used in many areas. This is a continuous process. There is no end," he told Moneycontrol.

On the targets he has set for himself and the ministry, Gadkari said that his goal is to double the speed of road construction to 100 kilometres a day and bring down the cost of logistics to 9 per cent by the end of December.

"Halving of logistics costs from 16 per cent to 9 per cent will make Indian exports more competitive," he said.