Namaskar!

I am glad that hundreds of stakeholders are participating in this webinar on Infrastructure and more than 700 MDs and CEOs have spared their time and realized the greatness of this important initiative and worked for value addition. I welcome everyone. Besides I have complete confidence that experts across various sectors and various stakeholders will also make this webinar extremely enriching and result-oriented by joining in large numbers. I once again thank all of you for taking time out and I extend my warm welcome to you all. This year's budget is going to give a fresh boost to the growth of the infrastructure sector. Various experts from around the world and many reputed media houses have praised India's budget and its strategic decisions. Now our Capex is five times more compared to the year 2013-14, i.e. before my regime. Under the National Infrastructure Pipeline, the government is aiming to invest Rs 110 lakh crore in the coming times. In such a scenario, it is time for the stakeholders to take up new responsibilities, new possibilities and bold decisions. 

Friends,

Infrastructure has always been important in the development of any country, in sustainable development, keeping in mind its bright future. Those who study the history related to infrastructure know this very well. Like Chandragupta Maurya had got the Uttarapatha built about 2500 years ago. This route greatly helped in increasing the trade-business between Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Later, Emperor Ashoka also commissioned several development works on this route. In the 16th century, Sher Shah Suri had also understood the importance of this route and completed the development works in a fresh way. When the Britishers came, they upgraded this route further and it was called GT Road. That is, the concept of development of highways for the development of the country is thousands of years old. Similarly, we see that nowadays people talk a lot about river fronts and waterways. In this context, if we look at the Ghats of Banaras, they are also river fronts built thousands of years ago. Due to the direct water connectivity with Kolkata, Banaras was also the centre of trade and business for many centuries.

Another interesting example is the Kallanai Dam in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. This Kallanai Dam was built during the rule of the Chola Empire. This dam is about 2000 years old and the people around the world will be surprised to know that this dam is still operational today. This dam built 2000 years ago is still bringing prosperity in this area. You can imagine what India's heritage has been, what expertise it has had, what capability it has had. Unfortunately, after independence, modern infrastructure was not given as much emphasis as it should have been. For decades, a thinking dominated in our country that poverty is a state of mind - poverty is a virtue. This thinking prevented previous governments from investing in the country's infrastructure. It was not conducive to their vote bank politics. Our government has not only pulled the country out of this thinking, but is also making record investments on modern infrastructure.

Friends,

The country is already witnessing the result of this new thinking and these efforts. Today, the average annual construction of National Highways has almost doubled as compared to pre-2014 era. Similarly, before 2014, every year 600 route kilometre rail lines were electrified. Today it is reaching about 4000 route kilometers. If we look at the airports, the number of airports has also increased from 74 in 2014 to around 150. That is, it has doubled. That is, 150 airports have been completed in such a short span of time. Similarly, in today's era of globalization, the sea-port is also very crucial. The capacity augmentation of our ports has also almost doubled as compared to before.

Friends,

We consider infrastructure building as the driving force of the country's economy. Following this path, India will achieve the goal of being a developed nation by 2047. Now we need to increase our pace further. Now we need to be in top gear. And PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan plays a major role in the same. PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan is going to revive India's Infrastructure, India's Multimodal Logistics. In a way, this is a great tool to integrate economic and infrastructure planning as well as development. Try to recall, one of our greatest problems was the fact that whenever ports and airports used to be built, the first mile and last mile connectivity was not taken care of and was not given priority. SEZs and industrial townships used to come up, but there was a lot of delay in proper connectivity and getting access to infrastructure like electricity, water and gas pipelines.

Consequently, there were several problems related to logistics. A large part of the country's GDP was getting drained unnecessarily. And every type of development project used to get stalled in a way. Now all these nodes are being tied together with a fixed time limit. A kind of blueprint is being prepared by involving everyone. And I am glad that the results of PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan are also visible today. We have identified those gaps, which affect our logistic efficiency. Therefore, priority has been given to 100 critical projects in this year's budget and a provision of Rs 75,000 crore has been made for them. With quality and multi-modal infrastructure, our logistic cost is going to reduce further in the days to come. This has to have a very positive impact on the goods made in India, on the competence of our products. Besides the logistics sector, there will be a lot of improvement in ease of living and ease of doing business. Under such a scenario, the possibilities for the participation of the private sector are also increasing continuously. I invite the private sector to participate in these projects.

Friends,

Certainly our states also have a major role in it. The government is continuing the 50-year-interest-free loans for another year so that the state governments do not face shortage of funds for this. In this, there has been an increase of 30 percent in comparison to last year's budgetary expenditure. The aim is to ensure that the states also promote quality infrastructure.

Friends,

In this webinar, I would urge all of you to think about another topic. It is equally important to have different types of materials for the construction of modern infrastructure. That is, it creates huge possibilities for our manufacturing industry. If this sector assesses its needs and forecasts in advance, if a mechanism is developed for this, then the construction industry will be easily able to mobilize materials. We need an integrated approach; we have to integrate the circular economy part with our future construction works. The concept of 'best out of waste' should also be a part of it. And I believe that the PM Gati-Shakti National Master Plan also plays a major role in it.

Friends,

When infrastructure develops at a place, it brings development along with it. In a way, the entire ecosystem of development simultaneously starts building on its own. And I always remember my old days, when there was an earthquake in Kutch. It is quite natural that if a government is faced with such a big tragedy or accident, it is hard to imagine beforehand. I told them to complete the work as soon as possible and start  moving towards normal life. There were two options in front of me. Either I could have used temporary solutions after carrying out relief and rescue work in that area, making minor repairs and leaving those districts to their fate, or to convert the disaster into an opportunity. I should move ahead with a new approach to modernize Kutch ; there may have been losses but it's time to do something new, something good and  massive!

And friends, you will be happy to know that I did not think of political gains or losses. I did not make compromises by doing makeshift works for compliments.  I instead took a huge leap. I chose the other option and made infrastructure for development in Kutch my end goal. So, at that time, the Gujarat government built the state's best roads in Kutch, wide roads; it constructed massive water tanks, and the electricity system that worked for a long time. And I know many people used to tell me, "why are you building such broad roads? Not a single vehicle passes here even in five or ten minutes. What's the use ? You are spending so much". They were telling me so. In Kutch, there was negative growth in a way. Until then, people were leaving Kutch for the last 50 years.

But friends, with the investment and plans we made on infrastructure at that time, keeping in mind the needs of the future besides the needs of that time, today Kutch district is reaping its amazing benefits. Today Kutch has become the fastest growing district of Gujarat. Earlier for officers who were posted on the border, that is, in a way, it was considered punishment posting. It was called the punishment of Kalapani. Today it is becoming the most developed district. Such a huge area which was once deserted, is now vibrant and the whole country is talking about it today. There are five airports in the same district. The credit goes to the modern infrastructure that was built in Kutch, which turned disaster into opportunity. We thought ahead of the needs of the time, and it is getting its results today.

Friends,

Along with the strength of the physical infrastructure, it is equally necessary for the social infrastructure of the country to be strong. The stronger our social infrastructure is, the more talented youth, skilled youth will be able to come forward to work. That's why it is equally necessary to give priority and emphasis on many such subjects like skill development, project management, finance skills, entrepreneur skills. We also have to develop a mechanism regarding skill forecasts in different sectors, in both small and large industries. This will also greatly benefit the Human Resource Pool of the country. I will also ask the various ministries of the government to work faster in this direction.

Friends,

You are not only building infrastructure, but also working to give momentum to India's growth age. That's why the role of every stakeholder involved in this webinar and their suggestions are very important. And also when we talk about infrastructure, it's mostly around rail, road, airport, and port but now in this budget, a massive project for storage in villages has been taken up to help with storage facilities for farmers' produce. Just imagine, what kind of a huge infrastructure will need to be created now!

Wellness centres are being set up in the country. Best wellness centres are being set up for health services in lakhs of villages. This is also infrastructure. We are building new railway stations; this is also infrastructure work. We are doing the work of providing pucca houses to every family; that too is infrastructure-related work. In these projects, we need new technology, innovation in materials, construction time as well as how to work within the time limit.  India now needs to take a huge leap forward in all these areas. And that's why this webinar is so crucial.

I wish you all the very best! Your brainstorming, your thoughts, your experiences will be crucial for implementing this budget in the best  possible way. It will be implemented at a faster pace and will bring the best results. I strongly believe it. I wish you all the best.

Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.

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DS/VJ/IG/AK