Today India is among the top 3 in the world of startups. Today, India is creating the world's largest skilled pool. Today, India has overcome every challenge and become number one in digital transactions
(The Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the '21st Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2023', held in New Delhi on Nov 4, 2023)
Shobhana Bhartia ji, all the members of your team, all the guests present here, ladies and gentlemen of Hindustan Times.
First of all, I want to apologize to all of you because I was in the election field, so there was some delay in returning from there. But I have reached you straight from the airport. Shobhana ji was speaking very well, that is, the issues were good, we will definitely get to read them some day or the other.
friends,
Hello to all of you. I am very thankful to HT Group for inviting me here once again for the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. In 2014, when our government was formed and our service period started, the theme of this summit was – Reshaping India i.e. HT Group was assuming that in the coming time, a lot of things will change in India, it will be reshaped. In 2019, when our government came back with a bigger majority than before, you kept the theme - Conversations for a Better Tomorrow. Through HT Summit, you gave a message to the world that India is moving on the path of a better future. Now in 2023, when the elections to be held next year are being discussed in the country, your theme is - Beyond Barriers... And I am a person who lives among the people, I am a political person and a public representative, so I am included in that. Some message appears. Opinion polls usually come out a few weeks before elections and tell us what is going to happen. But you have given a clear indication that this time the people of the country are going to break all the barriers and support us. 2024 Election Results will be beyond barriers.
friends,
This journey of India from 'Reshaping India' to 'Beyond Barriers' has laid the foundation for the bright future to come. On this foundation, a developed India will be built, a grand and prosperous India will be built. For a long time, India and we Indians have had to face many barriers. The attacks on us and the long period of slavery had tied India in many bonds. The tide that arose during the freedom movement, the passion that arose, the feeling of collectivity that arose, broke many such barriers. After independence, it was expected that this momentum would continue, but unfortunately it did not happen. Our country, bound by many types of restrictions, could not move ahead at the pace it was capable of. A big barrier was mental barriers. Some barriers were real. Some barriers were perceived and created, and some barriers were exaggerated and presented before us like a bogeyman. Since 2014, India has been continuously working hard to break these barriers. I am satisfied that we have crossed many barriers and now we are talking about 'Beyond Barriers'. Today, breaking every barrier, India has reached the moon where no one has reached before. Today, India has overcome every challenge and become number one in digital transactions. Today India, overcoming every obstacle, is taking the lead in mobile manufacturing. Today India is among the top three in the world of startups. Today, India is creating the world's largest skilled pool. Today, India is hoisting its flag in events like G-20. Today India is moving forward by freeing itself from every bondage. And you must have heard – there is more beyond the stars. India is not going to stop at this.
friends,
As I was saying just now, the biggest barrier here was mindset, there were mental barriers. Because of this mindset, we used to hear all kinds of things. Nothing can happen in this country... Nothing can change in this country... And here everything goes on like this... Even if we come late, we used to say - Indian Time, used to say with great pride Were. Regarding corruption, nothing can be done about it sir, learn to live...if something is made by the government then its quality will definitely be bad sir, it is government...some incidents happen which Inspires the entire country to break the mental barrier and come out. It was a pinch of salt when Gandhiji took it in the Dandi March, but the whole country stood up, people's belief that we can achieve independence had increased. Right now, due to the success of Chandrayaan, no 140 crore countrymen have suddenly become scientists or astronauts. But even today we are experiencing an atmosphere full of self-confidence in the entire country. And what comes out – we can do it, we can go ahead in every sector. Today every Indian is full of high spirits. You will remember the topic of cleanliness. Some people used to say that the PM talking about cleanliness and toilets from the Red Fort is against the dignity of this post. Sanitary pad was a word that people, especially men, avoided saying even in normal colloquial language. I raised these topics from the Red Fort. And from there the mindset change began. Today cleanliness has become a mass movement. You remember, no one even asked about Khadi. A lot, that is, the issue of leaders like us remaining, that too wearing a long kurta and reaching the elections, had happened here. But now in the last 10 years the sales of Khadi have increased more than three times.
friends,
Countrymen know the success of Jan Dhan Bank accounts. But when we came up with this scheme, some experts had said that opening these accounts is a waste of resources, the poor will not invest even a single penny in them. It was not just about money. It was about breaking the mental barrier, changing the mindset. These people could never understand the pride and self-respect of the poor which Jan Dhan Yojana awakened in them. He did not have the courage to go to the banks' doors, he was afraid. For him, having a bank account was also a thing for the rich. When he saw the banks themselves coming to his door, a confidence arose in him, a self-respect arose, a new seed grew in his mind. Today he proudly takes out RuPay card from his pocket and uses RuPay card. And we know that 5-10 years ago, the situation was such that when big people were eating in a big hotel, there used to be competition among them, whenever he took out his wallet, he wanted to see that There are 15-20 cards in his wallet, showing cards was also fashionable, the number of cards was a status matter. Modi put it in the pocket of the poor. How mental barriers are broken.
Friends, today the poor feel that whatever the rich have, he also has. This seed has become a banyan tree and given many fruits. People living in a world of numbers and narratives of AC rooms will never understand this psychological empowerment of the poor. But I come from a poor family, have come here after living poverty, so I know that these efforts of the government have worked to break many barriers. This change in mindset has come not only within the country but also outside. Earlier, whenever there was a terrorist attack, our governments used to appeal to the world to help us, they had to go to increase global opinion. Stop the terrorists. If there is a terrorist attack in our government, the country responsible for the attack appeals to the whole world to save itself. India's action changed the mindset of the world. 10 years ago the world thought that India was an obstacle, a hindrance, negative in the resolutions of Climate Action. But today India is leading the world's climate action resolutions and is achieving its targets ahead of time. Today we are seeing the effect of changing mindset in the world of sports also. People used to say to the players, you are playing but what will you do in your career, what will you do with your job? Governments had also left the players at the mercy of God. Neither did they get much financial help nor was attention given to sports infrastructure. Our government also removed this barrier. Now today, in one tournament after another, it is raining medals for us.
Friends,
There is no dearth of potential in India, there is no dearth of resources. There has been a very big and real barrier in front of us – poverty. Poverty can be fought not with slogans but only with solutions. Poverty can be defeated not by slogans but only by policy and intentions. The thinking of our previous governments did not allow the poor of the country to progress socially and economically. I believe that the poor themselves have enough strength to fight poverty and win that fight. We have to support him, provide him basic facilities, empower him. That is why our government has taken the task as top priority to break these barriers by empowering the poor. We not only changed people's lives, but also helped the poor come out of poverty. The country is clearly seeing its results today. And now Shobhana ji was telling that in just 5 years, more than 13 crore people have come out of poverty. That means we can say that 13 crore people have broken the barrier of poverty and have joined the Neo Middle Class of the country.
friends,
A big real barrier to India's development has been nepotism and nepotism. Only a person who was connected to a particular family or knew a powerful person could move forward easily. The common citizen of the country had no questions anywhere. Be it sports, science, politics or Padma award, the common man of the country felt that if he was not connected to a big family then his chances of success were very less. But you have seen in the last few years that the common citizen of the country has now started feeling empowered and encouraged in all these areas. Now he is not worried that he will have to visit some powerful man and seek his help. Yesterday's Unsung Heroes are Country's Heroes today!
Friends,
For years, lack of modern infrastructure in India has been a big and real barrier in the way of our development. We have found a solution to this, the world's largest Infrastructure Building Drive started in India. Today unprecedented infrastructure development is taking place in the country. I will give you some examples, which will give you an idea of the speed and scale of India. In the year 2013-14, 12 kilometers of highways were built every day. I am talking about before my service period started. In 2022-23, we have built approximately 30 kilometers of highways every day. In 2014, there was metro rail connectivity in 5 cities of the country. There will be metro rail connectivity in 20 cities of the country by 2023. In 2014, there were about 70 operational airports in the country. In 2023, this number has reached approximately 150, that is, this figure has doubled. In 2014, there were about 380 medical colleges in the country. We will have more than 700 medical colleges in 2023. In 2014, only 350 kilometers of optic fiber reached gram panchayats. By 2023, we have connected gram panchayats by laying about 6 lakh kilometers of optic fiber. In 2014, only 55 percent villages were connected to PM Gram Sadak Yojana. We have taken this figure to 99 percent by constructing more than 4 lakh kilometers of roads. Till 2014, about 20 thousand kilometers of railway lines were electrified in India. Listen carefully. Electrification of 20 thousand kilometers of railway lines in 70 years. Whereas our government has electrified about 40 thousand kilometers of railway lines in 10 years. This is the speed, scale of today's India and a symbol of India's success.
friends,
In the past years, our country has also come out of some perceived barriers. There was a problem in the minds of our policymakers and our political experts also. He believed that Good Economics cannot be Good Politics. Many governments also accepted this and due to this the country started facing problems on both the political and economic front. But we have shown Good Economics and Good Politics by bringing them together. Today everyone is accepting that Good Economics is also Good Politics. Our better economic policies have opened new avenues of progress in the country. This changed the lives of every section of the society and it is these people who have voted for a stable government to give us such a huge majority. Be it GST, be it the solution to the banking crisis, be it the policies made to come out of the Covid crisis... we always chose those policies which provide long term solutions to the country, and guarantee long term benefits to the citizens.
friends,
Another example of Perceived Barriers is the Women's Reservation Bill. After hanging around for decades, it seemed that this bill would never pass. But now we have crossed this obstacle also. Narishakti Vandan Act is a reality today.
Friends,
While talking to you, in the beginning I had mentioned another topic and also talked about exaggerated barriers. There have been some obstacles, some problems in our country which were made such a big deal by the previous governments and by the pundits, by the people who made disputes, for their political interests, they were made so big, for example, Whenever someone talked about removing Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, many things came into play. In a way, psychological pressure was created that if this happened then the sky would come down to earth. But the abrogation of Article 370 has opened new avenues of prosperity, peace and development in that entire region. Pictures of Lal Chowk show how Jammu and Kashmir is being transformed. Today terrorism is coming to an end there, tourism is continuously increasing. We have a commitment to ensure that Jammu and Kashmir reaches new heights of development.
friends,
Many people present here are from the field of media. The relevance of the media delivering breaking news to us has been very high. The tradition of giving breaking news from time to time is fine, but it is also important to analyze what kind of breaking news used to happen earlier and what happens now. Even though a decade has passed between 2013 and 2023, there is a huge difference in the changes that have taken place during this period. Those who covered the economy in 2013 will remember how rating agencies used to do downward revision of India's GDP growth forecast. But in 2023, exactly the opposite is happening. International institutions and rating agencies are now doing upward revision of our growth forecast. In 2013, there was news about the poor condition of the banking sector. But now in 2023 our banks are showing their Best Ever Profits and Performance. In 2013, the news of AgustaWestland helicopter scam was prevalent in the country. But in 2023, it is reported in newspapers and news channels that India's defense export has now reached a record high. This has increased by more than 20 times as compared to 2013-14. From Record Scams to Record Exports, we have come a long way.
friends,
In 2013, you would find many national and international publications which gave headlines that the dreams of the middle class have been ruined due to difficult economic conditions. But friends, who is making the changes in 2023? Be it sports, startup, space or technology, the middle class of the country is seen standing at the forefront of every development journey. India's middle class has progressed rapidly in the last few years. Their income has increased, their size has increased. In 2013-14, about 4 crore people filed income tax returns. This number has doubled in 2023-24 and more than 7.5 crore people have filed income tax returns. A study related to Tax Information shows that the mean income which was less than Rs 4.5 lakh in 2014, has increased to Rs 13 lakh in 2023. This means that millions of people in India have moved from Lower Income Groups to Higher Income Groups. I remember, recently an article was published in Hindustan Times in which many interesting facts related to income tax data were mentioned. A very interesting figure is that of those getting annual salary ranging from Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. If we add the total income of the earners in this salary bracket in the year 2011-12, then this figure was - about three and a quarter lakh crore rupees. That is, if we add the total salary of those getting a salary of Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh in India, it was less than Rs 3.25 lakh crore. By 2021 it has increased to Rs 14.5 lakh crore. Meaning it has increased 5 times. Two reasons for this are clear. The number of people getting salary from Rs 5.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh has also increased a lot and the salary of people in this bracket has also increased significantly. And I will remind you again, this analysis is based only on Salaried Income. If income from business, income from house property, income from other investments is added to this, then this figure will increase even more.
friends,
Growing middle class and decreasing poverty in India, these two factors are becoming the basis of a huge economic cycle. The people who are coming out of poverty, who are becoming a part of the Neo Middle Class, are now emerging as a huge force to accelerate the consumption growth of the country. Our middle class is taking the responsibility of fulfilling this demand. If a poor person feels like buying new shoes, he buys it from a middle class shop, which means that the income of the middle class increases and the life of the poor changes. India is passing through a good cycle today. This means that the reducing poverty in the country is also benefiting the middle class. The aspiration and willpower of such poor and middle class people is powering the development of the country today. It is the power of these people that has made India from the 10th economy to the 5th largest economy. And now this willpower is going to include India among the top 3 economies of the world in our third term.
friends,
In this Amrit Kaal, the country is working to become a developed India by 2047. I am confident that overcoming every obstacle we will be successful in reaching our goal. Today, from the poorest of the poor to the world's richest investors, they have started believing that this is India's time. The self-confidence of every Indian is our biggest strength. With its strength we can cross any barrier. And I believe that I don't know who or how many will be from here in 2047, but I say with confidence, when the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit is held in 2047, its theme will be - Developed Nation, What Next? Once again, my very best wishes to all of you for this summit. Thank you very much.
