İndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday cited several examples of the government’s welfare policies to assert that India will follow the path of inclusive growth for the next 25 years, Trend reports citing The Tribune.
“Reforms are being undertaken by conviction, not compulsion. They are a win-win choice. No real economic growth possible without inclusion and no inclusion possible without growth,’’ observed the Prime Minister while speaking at the first Arun Jaitley Memorial Lecture.
Besides paying tributes to Jaitley, the PM also spoke with a “heavy heart’’ about the passing away of former Japan PM Shinzo Abe.
He said as many as 209 new medical colleges had been built in the past eight years compared to 50 in the previous 10 years. Nine crore free cooking gas connections were given, 10 crore toilets constructed and 45 crore bank accounts were opened, he said, adding that this showed the government was committed towards inclusivity.
“I agree there are challenges. But there are 130 crore solutions,” declared the Prime Minister.
Starting the proceedings, Finnace Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out that Jaitley was the person behind two major reforms — GST and the Bankruptcy Code. It was during his tenure that the date of presenting the Union Budget was advanced to February 1 and the separate presentation of the railway budget was abolished.