Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Aug 21
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that political stability and continuity in policy were helping India maintain its economic growth momentum, while describing reforms across sectors as a core commitment of his government.
Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum, Modi said the global economy was facing multiple challenges, including the weaponisation of resources, but India was increasingly being viewed as a bright spot for growth and hope.
“India continues to take several steps to ensure continued growth momentum. India is pushing ahead with reforms across sectors and reforms are our commitment,” Modi said.
He said the government had a clear roadmap for reforms, with a strong emphasis on governance, and was seeking to change both policies and the regulatory framework.
“Our government is rewarding higher production with incentives,” Modi said, referring to the production-linked incentive model adopted by the government to encourage manufacturing and investment.
Modi criticised previous governments for what he described as policies that kept people dependent on the state for basic necessities, saying the licence raj had also contributed to the burden of unemployment.
He said his government was replacing what he described as a restrictive regulatory approach with a system that allows activities unless they are expressly prohibited by law.
“We are moving from the ‘prohibited-unless-permitted’ approach to the ‘permitted-unless-prohibited’ model,” Modi said.
The PM said reforms were being pursued not only through changes in regulations but also through policy and governance, with the broader objective of improving ease of living.
He contrasted the current production-linked incentive system with what he termed the “Production Linked Punishment” model of previous governments.
Modi cited changes in the Indian Railways, Delhi Metro and Namo Rapid Rail as examples of smaller reforms reflecting broader changes in the country’s infrastructure and transport systems.
He also highlighted a change in rules governing mapping, saying that in the past people required permission even to make a map of India while foreign satellites could map the country.
The government, he said, had also changed its approach to border infrastructure by treating it as a national strength rather than a weakness.
“We have changed the picture of our border infrastructure,” Modi said.
He also pointed to India’s telecommunications and mobile manufacturing sectors, saying the country had the world’s cheapest data and was producing mobile phones that were both inexpensive and of high quality.
