India set for greater growth under PM Modi: Piyush Goyal
ROAD AHEAD Country to have growth that will be free, fair and lead to prosperity, says minister; industry lauds govt’s moves, feels India is headed in the right direction
NEW DELHI: Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is poised for greater growth, both socially and economically — growth that will be free, fair and lead to all round prosperity, said minister for coal, power, and renewable energy, Piyush Goyal, at the India Economic Summit here on Thursday.
Participating in a debate on India’s growth outlook under the five-month-old BJP government, Goyal said the Centre has increased transparency in operations. It is taking steps to implement fiscal prudence, stabilise the economy and take it back to the high growth rates of previous years, he added.
By cutting red-tape, he said, the government has ensured there is no room for corruption. It has also effectively addressed challenges such as financial inclusion, infrastructure deficit and skills development and education, he claimed.
“When business succeeds, we will improve the lives of the people. The government believes there is no contradiction between being pro-business and pro-poor,” he said.
His views were echoed by Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, who said India was going in the right direction.
The government has taken a path that will ensure that in five to seven years, “we will be a new society. He (Modi) is involving the nation like no other leader has done before. The society has to be involved to change this country. I have never seen a more hard-working and transparent government.”
“We must give it some time,” he said, pointing out that five months of this government should not be judged against 67 years of previous governments.
Expressing a contrarian view, Aruna Roy, founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), said under the Modi government, India remains divided. “There is the other India that is unhappy and distressed by a whole spate of promises that have not been fulfilled,” she said.
“We are very uncomfortable,” she said. “There is more rhetoric but very little action and, in some cases, they are going backwards. It is an opaque government. We don’t have a roadmap (of government plans).”
Meanwhile, Mittal said the telecom industry wants more spectrum and the government should make it available. “We want more spectrum from the government. Every country has the same amount of spectrum and it is not that India has less... It needs to be vacated from other places.”
EVERY COUNTRY HAS THE SAME AMOUNT OF SPECTRUM AND IT IS NOT THAT INDIA HAS LESS... IT NEEDS TO BE VACATED FROM OTHER PLACES SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL, chairman, Bharti Enterprises