Reforms back on track after 2014, India now means business for world: Modi

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said political stability achieved after the  2014 general elections had helped the BJP-led government at the Centre bring about a transformational change in the economy. For the world, India now meant business.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the PGP Class of 2022 of the Indian School of Business (ISB) here, marking the 20th anniversary of the institution, Modi said that it was because of the efforts of countless people that India had emerged as a growth hub, and was today the fastest-growing economy in the G20.

Addressing the new graduates of ISB, Modi said, "The confidence among the people and their willpower to build a new India will also open many opportunities for you."

Listing out the achievements in different fields, the Prime Minister said India had emerged as a major growth hub in spite of Coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine war.

"Last year, India received record FDI. Now the world realises that India means business. And this feat was achieved not just by the efforts of the government. It enabled the efforts of many professionals from business schools like ISB, professors and youth."

"Whether it is start-ups, traditional businesses or manufacturing companies or service sector, Indian youth have proved that they lead the world," he said.
Stating that success depended on the implementation and end result, the Prime Minister asked ISB graduates to follow his mantra of 'Reform, Perform and Transform' in their careers.

Though India needed reforms badly, Modi said, political instability before 2014 had made governments hesitant to reform many practices.  

"The need for reform was always felt, but there was always a lack of political willpower. Due to the continuous political instability in the last three decades, the country has seen a lack of political willpower for a long time. Because of this, the country stayed away from reforms and from taking big decisions. Since 2014, our country is seeing political will, and also, reforms are being done continuously," he said.

Giving an example of the transformation in backwards districts, Modi said, "There were 100 districts spread across different states which were not performing as well as some of the others. Instead of addressing the issue, previous governments had labelled them backward districts. Officials used to be posted in those districts as a punishment."

"We, however," Modi continued, "decided to call them aspirational districts. We appointed the best of our officials to these districts. They were asked to find issues affecting the growth of these districts. And, now these districts have become growth engines of our  country."

Speaking about the ISB, the Prime Minister said, "Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee dedicated this institution to the country in 2001. Since then, more than 50,000 executives have passed out from ISB. Today, ISB is among the top business schools in Asia. Professionals passed out from ISB are helming top companies and giving momentum to the county’s business. Students from here have created hundreds of startups and played a role in creating unicorns. This is an achievement of ISB and a cause of pride for the entire country.”