I welcome all the guests who have come to the World Leaders Forum. The timing of this forum is very perfect, and therefore I appreciate it. Just last week, I spoke about next-generation reforms from the Red Fort, and now this forum is working as a force multiplier in that spirit.

Friends,

Here, there have been detailed discussions on global circumstances and on geo-economics, and when we look at it in the global context, you realize the strength of Bharat’s economy. Today, Bharat is the fastest-growing major economy in the world. Very soon, we are going to become the third-largest economy in the world. Experts are saying that Bharat’s contribution to global growth will soon be nearly 20 percent. This growth, this resilience that we are seeing in Bharat’s economy, is the result of the macro-economic stability that has come to the country in the past decade. Today, our fiscal deficit is estimated to reduce to 4.4 percent. And this is when we have faced such a massive crisis like COVID. Today, our companies are raising record funds from the capital markets. Today, our banks are stronger than ever before. Inflation is very low and interest rates are low. Our current account deficit is under control. Our forex reserves are also very strong. Not only this, every month, millions of domestic investors are putting thousands of crores into the market through SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans).

Friends,

You also know, when the fundamentals of an economy are strong and its foundation is strong, then its impact is seen everywhere. I had discussed this in detail on 15th August. I will not repeat those points, but whatever happened around 15th August and in the following week, that itself is a great example of Bharat’s growth story.

Friends,

The latest data shows that in the month of June alone—yes, I am talking about just one month—22 lakh formal jobs were added as per EPFO data, and this number is the highest ever for any month. Bharat’s retail inflation is at its lowest level since 2017. Our foreign exchange reserves are near their record high. In 2014, our solar PV module manufacturing capacity was about 2.5 gigawatts. The latest figure shows that today this capacity has reached the historic milestone of 100 gigawatts. Our airport in Delhi has also entered the elite Hundred-Million-Plus Club of global airports. Today, the annual passenger handling capacity of this airport is over 100 million. Only six airports in the world are part of this exclusive group.

Friends,

In recent days, another piece of news has been in discussion. S&P Global Ratings has upgraded Bharat’s credit rating. And this has happened after nearly two decades. This means that with its resilience and strength, Bharat has become a symbol of hope for the rest of the world.

Friends,

In common conversations, there is one line we often hear, sometimes we say it ourselves, sometimes we hear it from others — “Missing the bus.” Meaning, an opportunity comes, and it passes by. In our country, earlier governments missed many such buses of technology and industry. I have not come here with the intention of criticizing anyone, but sometimes making comparisons helps make the situation clearer in a democracy.

Friends,

Earlier governments kept the country entangled in vote-bank politics. Their thinking did not go beyond elections. They believed that developing cutting-edge technology was the job of developed countries. And if we ever needed it, we would just import it from there. That is why, for years, our country lagged behind many other nations of the world — we kept missing the bus. Let me give you some examples. Take our communication sector. When the internet era began across the world, the government of that time was in confusion. Then came the 2G era — and we all saw what happened. We missed that bus. We remained dependent on foreign countries even for 2G, 3G, and 4G. But how long could this go on? That is why, after 2014, Bharat changed its approach. Bharat decided that we would not miss any bus, rather we would sit in the driving seat and move forward. And so, we developed our entire 5G stack indigenously. We not only made Made-in-India 5G, but also rolled it out across the country at the fastest pace. Now, we are working rapidly on Made-in-India 6G.

And friends,

We all know that the production of semiconductors in Bharat could have started 50–60 years ago. But Bharat missed that bus too, and this continued for many years. Today, we have changed this situation. Semiconductor factories have already started being established in Bharat, and by the end of this year, the first Made-in-India chip will reach the market.

Friends,

Today is also National Space Day. I extend greetings to all of you on this occasion, and along with that, I will also talk about this sector. Before 2014, our space missions were limited, and their scope was also limited. But in the 21st century, when every major country is exploring possibilities in space, how could Bharat stay behind? That is why we carried out reforms in the space sector and also opened it for the private sector. Let me share a figure with you. From 1979 to 2014, Bharat carried out only 42 missions — that is, just 42 missions in 35 years. You will be happy to know that in the past 11 years, more than 60 missions have been completed. Many more missions are lined up for the coming time. This very year, we have also achieved the capability of space docking. This is a very big achievement for our future missions. Now, Bharat is preparing to send its astronauts into space through the Gaganyaan Mission. And in this, the experience of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will greatly help us.

Friends,

To give new energy to the space sector, it was necessary to free it from every restriction. That is why, for the first time, we created clear rules for private participation, for the first time spectrum allocation became transparent, for the first time foreign investment was liberalized, and in this year’s budget, we also allocated a 1,000 crore rupees venture capital fund for space start-ups.

Friends,

Today, Bharat’s space sector is witnessing the success of these reforms. In 2014, Bharat had just one space start-up, today there are more than 300. And the day is not far when we will have our own space station.

Friends,

We are not moving ahead for incremental changes, but with the goal of achieving a quantum jump. And for us, reforms are neither a compulsion, nor crisis-driven. They are our commitment and conviction! With a holistic approach, we deeply review one sector, and then carry out reforms in that sector, one by one.

Friends,

Just a few days ago, the Monsoon Session of Parliament concluded. In this Monsoon Session itself, you can see the continuity of reforms. Despite numerous disruptions created by the Opposition, we remained fully committed to reforms. In this Monsoon Session, Jan Vishwas 2.0 was introduced — a very big reform connected with trust-based governance and pro-people governance. In the first edition of Jan Vishwas, we had decriminalized about 200 minor offences. Now, in this second edition of the law, we have decriminalized more than 300 minor offences. In the same session, reforms were also made in the Income Tax law. This law, which has been in place for 60 years, has now been simplified further. And there is one special point here — earlier, the language of this law was such that only lawyers or CAs could properly understand it. But now, the Income Tax Bill has been drafted in the language of ordinary taxpayers. This shows how sensitive our government is to the interests of citizens.

Friends,

In this Monsoon Session itself, significant amendments were also made to laws related to mining. Laws related to shipping and ports were also changed. These laws had continued unchanged since the British era. Now, the reforms that have taken place will promote Bharat’s Blue Economy and port-led development. Similarly, new reforms have also been made in the sports sector. We are preparing Bharat for hosting major global events and building the entire ecosystem of the sports economy. That is why the government has also introduced a new National Sports Policy — the Khelo Bharat Policy.

Friends,

To be satisfied with only what has been achieved, to think “this much is enough, Modi can now rest” — that is not in my nature. The same applies to reforms as well. We constantly prepare for the future and we have to move further ahead. Now I am coming with an entire new arsenal of reforms. For this, we are working on several fronts. We are eliminating unnecessary laws, simplifying rules and procedures, digitizing processes and approvals, and decriminalizing numerous provisions. As part of this, a major reform is also being carried out in GST. By this Diwali, this process will be completed. This will make GST even simpler and also reduce prices.

Friends,

With this arsenal of next-generation reforms, manufacturing in Bharat will increase, market demand will grow, industry will gain new energy, new opportunities for employment will be created, and both Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business will improve.

Friends,

Today, Bharat is fully committed to becoming a developed nation by 2047, and the foundation of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) is ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (a self-reliant India). We also need to view Atmanirbhar Bharat through three parameters and these parameters are speed, scale, and scope. You have witnessed Bharat’s speed, scale, and scope during the global pandemic. You will remember, at that time, suddenly there was a huge need for many things, while the global supply chain had come to a complete halt. Then, we took steps to manufacture essential items within the country itself. In no time, we produced large numbers of testing kits, ventilators, and installed oxygen plants in hospitals across the nation. In all these efforts, Bharat’s speed was evident. We administered more than 220 crore Made-in-India vaccines to our citizens, absolutely free of cost. This demonstrates Bharat’s scale. We developed the CoWIN platform to rapidly vaccinate crores of people. This reflects Bharat’s scope. It was the world’s most unique system, through which we completed vaccination in record time.

Friends,

In the same way, the world is witnessing Bharat’s speed, scale, and scope in the energy sector. We had resolved that by 2030, we would generate 50 percent of our total power capacity from non-fossil fuels. That was the target for 2030 — but we achieved this goal five years earlier, in 2025 itself.

Friends,

In earlier times, policies were heavily focused on imports. People had their own interests, their own games. But today, Atmanirbhar Bharat is creating new records in exports as well. In the past year alone, we exported agricultural products worth 4 lakh crore rupees. In the last year, 800 crore vaccine doses were manufactured worldwide, out of which 400 crore were produced in Bharat itself. In the six and a half decades after Independence, our electronics exports had barely reached around 35,000 crore rupees. Today, this figure is reaching nearly 3.25 lakh crore rupees.

Friends,

Until 2014, Bharat’s automobile exports were around 50,000 crore rupees. Today, Bharat exports 1.2 lakh crore rupee worth of automobiles in a single year. Today, we are exporting everything from metro coaches, rail coaches, to rail locomotives. And since I am here among you, let me also share another success of Bharat— very soon, Bharat will be exporting electric vehicles to 100 countries across the world. In fact, a major event related to this is being held just two days from now, on 26th August.

Friends,

You all know that research is a very big foundation of a nation’s progress. Imported research might help us get by, but it cannot help us fulfil our resolutions. That is why, in the field of research, we need urgency and the right mindset. We have been working rapidly to encourage research. We are continuously working on the policies and platforms needed for this. Today, Bharat’s expenditure on research and development is more than double what it was in 2014. Compared to 2014, the number of patents filed has increased 17 times. We have established Research & Development cells in about 6,000 higher education institutions. You are also aware of the initiative “One Nation, One Subscription”, which has made access to world-class research journals much easier for our students. We have set up a National Research Foundation with a budget of 50,000 crore rupees, and we have also approved a 1 lakh crore rupees Research, Development and Innovation Scheme. The goal is to support new research in the private sector, especially in sunrise and strategic sectors.

Friends,

Here at this summit, many leading figures from the industry are also present. Today, the demand of the times is that industry and the private sector step forward, especially in areas such as clean energy, quantum technology, battery storage, advanced materials, and biotechnology, and increase their efforts and investments in research. This will give new energy to the resolution of building a ‘Viksit Bharat’.

Friends,

With the mantra of Reform, Perform, Transform, Bharat today is in a position to help the world emerge from slow growth. We are not people who sit by the shore of stagnant water, throwing stones for amusement — we are the people who change the course of fast-flowing rivers. And as I said from the Red Fort, Bharat today carries the strength to even bend the course of time itself.

Friends,

I am grateful to the Economic Times for giving me this opportunity to meet all of you once again. I also extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of you present here, and convey my very best wishes.

Thank you!

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MJPS/VJ/VK