India can become pillar of global growth, stability: Narendra Modi

Brics leaders Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (from left), Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma leave for talks prior to the G-20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, on Sunday. (Photo: AP)

Projecting India as a pillar of global economic stability, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said bold reforms have helped the country clock 7.5 per cent growth that will improve further in coming years.

“Through bold economic and governance reforms, we have achieved a growth rate of nearly 7.5 per cent with strong prospects for a higher growth rate in the near future.”

“Given our size and scale, India can become a pillar of global growth and stability,” he told heads of world 20 leading economies. In his lead intervention at G-20 Working Lunch on Development and Climate Change, Mr Modi said India has the world’s largest financial inclusion programme and has “definite target dates” for meeting people’s all basic needs. He said India is promoting growth and investing in skills to create employment for the youth. The country is also increasing the pace and quality of infrastructure expansion, and investing in making far more productive and resilient.

Referring to the sustainable development goals, Mr Modi said India’s development goals are aligned with the SDGs. The SDGs are comprehensive set of goals that places complete elimination of poverty in the world by 2030 as its top goal. And, it creates the right balance between growth, development, human welfare and environment, he added. “G-20 must align itself with the SDGs. In doing so, we will also stimulate faster and a more broad-based economic growth,” the PM said. In the past one year, the Centre has announced measures to improve ease of doing business, to strea-mline taxation and to liberalise the FDI policy, among other steps.