Modi pitches for making India a $20 trillion economy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday called for making India a $20 trillion economy, while stressing laws must evolve with time and his government had taken several initiatives towards "transforming India".

Addressing the Economic Times Global Business Summit here, Modi said that small acts can drive reforms and there was no contradiction between doing big-ticket items and small things.

He laid emphasis on cohesiveness of society and said there was need to cut leakage of subsidies and not the subsidies themselves.

Indicating launching a national programme for computerisation of public distribution system, he also said that steps were being taken for uninterrupted power supply to all consumers throughout the year.

Stressing elimination of poverty was fundamental to him, he said: "This is at the core of my understanding of cohesive growth."

Narrating his concept of economic good governance, he said the government must nurture an eco-system where the economy is primed for growth.

"Where development is employment-generating and employment is enabled by skills. Where skills are synced with production and production is benchmarked to quality. Where quality meets global standards and meeting global standards drives prosperity," he said, adding India can be a role model of growth and cohesiveness.

"We need a society and economy which complement each other," he said.

He noted development, which must result in jobs, should be a people's movement and economic development cannot take a nation forward on its own.

"India is a $2 trillion economy today. Can we not dream of an India with a $20 trillion economy?" he asked, adding his government was preparing the ground for it.

"This is hard work. Quick and easy reforms will not be enough for creating a fast growing economy. That is our challenge and that is what we aim to do," he said.

Modi said government systems are complex and slow and there was need to change them to make them "sharp, effective, fast and flexible".

He said the government was cutting down on multiple clearances that choke investment.

Referring to his mantra of "maximum governance, minimum government", he said that it means government has no business to be in business and it is needed to "focus government on the things that are required of the state' and secondly "achieve competence in government so that the state delivers on the things it sets out to do"

Creating NITI Aayog was a step to move away from merely planning, to transforming India, he said.

He also assured his government was committed to achieving the fiscal deficit target announced in the budget, while "consensus arrived" for implementing Goods and Services Tax (GST) was a major breakthrough and that public sector banks will have total autonomy in taking business decisions.

Referring to his total sanitation drive, Modi said cleaning Ganga was also an economic activity.

Taking a dig at the previous UPA government, Modi said his government has "to repair the damage that has happened".

"Restoring growth momentum will be an uphill task. But we can overcome the mood of despair. And we must," he said.