‘People, planet, profit’ is PM’S mantra to industry

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“...amidst all this, every Indian citizen is showing a resolve to transform this disaster into an opportunity and to make this into a major turning point... a turning point for creating a self-reliant India.”

nNEW DELHI: Reiterating his call to convert the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) crisis into an opportunity to make India self-reliant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked industry to focus on “people, planet and profit” and create globally competitive supply chains; emphasised on a policy shift from “command and control” to a “plug and play” economy; and urged citizens to promote “local” companies and products.

Addressing the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Kolkata over video conference on Thursday, he said the entire world was gripped by the pandemic, and was fighting to overcome it. “But, amidst all this, every Indian citizen is showing a resolve to transform this disaster

NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister

into an opportunity and to make this into a major turning point,” he said. He defined the turning point as a “self-reliant India”, and claimed that while this had been the aspiration of Indians for several years, it was being pursued in both policies and actions for the last 5-6 years.

PM Modi gave a call for an “Atmnirbhar Bharat” in his address to the nation on May 12 when he announced a package of ~20 lakh crore to revive the economy that was battered by the pandemic.

The PM’S remarks come in the backdrop of official data showing that the Indian economy grew at 3.1% in the last quarter, ending March 31, with growth rate for 2019-2020 slipping to 4.2%, the slowest in 11 years on the back of falling investment and consumption. A sharp fall in gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected in this fiscal year due to