India replacing red tape with red carpet, says Modi at WEF: Key highlights

Modi showcased India's growth story to world leaders and called out for tackling climate change, terrorism, threat to globalisation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in the snowy town of Davos in Switzerland, addressed the plenary session of the 48th World Economic Forum (WEF), becoming the first Indian prime minister do so in 21 years. Addressing the crowd with a Namaste, PM Modi spoke in Hindi, showcasing India as a fast-growing economic power and a potential driver of global growth.

Pitching for India as a global destination for investment, Modi cautioned the world against growing protectionism and rise in tariff and non-tariff barriers that are impeding global trade even as he spoke of climate change, terrorism and "self-centrism" as the biggest challenges facing the world.

Speaking about India, Modi emphasised on the reforms brought by his government in the last three years saying the government had replaced red tape with red carpet and laid the roadmap for transformative change.

The Prime Minister said, now in India, foreign direct investment was possible in more than 90 per cent of the sectors through the automatic route. In the last three and a half years, the government has abolished 1,400 outdated laws.

Here are the key highlights of Modi's plenary session:

1. On job creation:

Innovation and entrepreneurship are making young Indians job givers, not job seekers and Indians will be job creators by 2025.

2. Message to investors:

In India, we are removing red tape and laying a red carpet for investors.  Ease of business is allowing everyone to manufacture, invest and export in India.

Today investing in India, travel to India, work in India, manufacture in India, production and exports from India to the rest of the world is easier than before as we have decided to eliminate the 'licence-permit raj' and finish the red tape. (Read more)

3. On GDP

Last time when an Indian PM came here in 1997, India's gross domestic product (GDP) was around $400 bn, now it has increased more than six times.

 

4. On terrorism
 

Terrorism is dangerous but what is equally dangerous is artificial distinction made between good and bad terrorist.

Issues of peace, security and stability have emerged as serious global challenges.

Climate change, terrorism grave concerns before the world; everyone is aware of India's position on menace of terrorism.

5. On technology:

Technology assuming immense importance in this era; deeply influencing the way we behave, politics and various aspects of our life.

6. On Indian democracy:

Democracy is not a political system in India, it is a way of life. 

Democracy, demography and dynamism are shaping our destiny today.
 

7. On world peace

We should all work together, we should build a heaven of this world.

There are some explosive forces in the environment that are capable of creating barriersfor development, world peace and stability. However, if we stand as one unit, we can help bridge the fractures created by these. 

8. On climate change 

Climate change is a huge threat right now, Snow in the Arctic is melting, many islands are sinking or are about to sink.

My government has put a very big goal before Indians to protect the environment and to fight climate change- we have set a target to produce 175GW of renewable energy by 2022.We have achieved one-third of this goal in the last three years by producing 60 GW renewable energy.

He also said that in 2016, India and France envisaged an international treaty-based organisation. (Read more)

9. Recalling the time when former PM Deve Gowda visited Davos in 1997

Modi recalled that when Deve Gowda came here in 1997, the theme of the WEF summit was building a networked society. That theme now looks centuries-old as the world today is about big data and so many other new developments, the prime minister said.

Harry Potter was an unheard name, tweeting was done only by birds and Amazon referred to dense forests in 1997. 

Also, chess players did not have any big fear of the computer while Google was not there in cyber space.(More details)

10. On globalisation:

It seems globalisation, opposed to its definition, is shrinking. Everybody talks about an inter-connected world, but it seems globalisation is fading.

Referring to WEF's theme of 'Creating a shared future in a fractured world', he said the Indian philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (the world is one family) has become more relevant in today's time to address fissures and distances in the world.

 

Six Union ministers — Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region of India Jitendra Singh, and Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar are attending the summit. Additionally, two chief ministers —Maharashtra's Devendra Fadnavis and Andhra Pradesh's Chandrababu Naidu along with high-ranking government officials and more than 100 corporate chief executives will be attending the WEF summit.