New Delhi: India will become the world’s third-largest economy in the next few years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday, crediting this potential achievement to “a stable government, policy and the will to transform”.
Modi, who addressed the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit in Dehradun, said this would happen during his third term, which he is seeking next year.
The Prime Minister told investors that India was progressing rapidly despite the Covid-19 pandemic and an industrial crisis.
“Every Indian thinks the development of this country is his responsibility. This confidence has boosted the speed of development in the country. Whether it was the Corona vaccine or economic policies, India always depended on its own capabilities and policies… India today is in a different league from other major world economies,” Modi said at the forum.
VIDEO | "Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, India is still rapidly progressing because of its economic policy," says PM Modi at the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit in Dehradun. pic.twitter.com/1p3iQxlcOy
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 8, 2023
India is at present in the fifth spot in 2023’s GDP rankings — behind the US, China, Japan and Germany.
Modi also told investors that there was a strong demand from the people for political stability. “Aspirational India today does not want instability, it wants a stable government,” the Prime Minister said.
He went on to say that the central government was making significant investments in Uttarakhand, a state ruled by his party, to boost its connectivity infrastructure – “in keeping with the demands of the 21st century”.
“Riding on the efforts of the Centre, the state government is linking small towns and villages at full speed… whether it is village roads or the Char Dham project,” the Prime Minister said.
Char Dham is an ambitious 890-kilometre road network that will connect four Hindu pilgrimage sites in the state. The Uttarkashi tunnel that collapsed last month, entrapping 41 workers, is part of this project.
That day is not far when the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway will bring travel time between these two cities to only two and a half hours, Modi said, adding, “Uttarakhand is a shining example of the mantra with which India is moving forward… mantra of development as well as heritage.”
The two-day summit on 8 and 9 December, is aiming to bring together businesses, corporates, academicians, innovators as well as governments to “collectively explore business opportunities and partnerships in the state”, the state government’s website said.
It highlighted that 15-plus “investor-friendly sectoral policies, good governance initiatives, enabling regulatory environment and sustainable practices” would be showcased at the summit.
Also read: Road ministry terms news reports of landslides in Uttarkashi ‘factually incorrect’