Reforms only start of long marathon, says PM

New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Indian economy is much better placed than where it was when his government assumed office and reforms initiated during the period were the start of a long marathon.

Delivering a long speech at the Delhi Economics Conclave he recalled all major economic initiatives taken during the past 17 months and said that they have been successful right from the word go.

Modi said the focus of reforms is not just to increase the rate of economic growth or impress experts and get “better headlines in pink papers” but also to help all citizens, especially the poor.

“Reform is not an end in itself. Reform for me is just a way station on the long journey to the destination. The destination is transformation of India. Reforming to transform is a marathon, not a sprint,” the prime minister said.

Modi said within months of the launch of micro-units development and refinance agency scheme the government laid the foundation for 120 lakh new jobs by disbursing loans totaling Rs 38,000 crore to 60 lakh micro and small businesses.

“Even Rs 2 lakh crore invested in the corporate sector would not produce these many jobs,” the prime minister said.

Adds: Jean Dreze, a noted economist who was was a member of Sonia Gandhi led National Advisory Council was dropped from the list of speakers at the Delhi Economics Conclave organised by the Finance Ministry.

Dreze, who was to speak at the conference on government's pet schemes of Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile, later put his speech on a news portal in which he spoke of dangers fraught in government's push for high-tech cash transfers as a foundation for social policy.

 

 

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