Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that his “government achieved the highest growth rate and lowest inflation’ since 1991 when India began economic liberalisation.
“At 7.3%, the average GDP growth over the entire term of our government, it has been the highest for any government since 1991,” Mr. Modi said, adding, “At the same time, the average rate of inflation at 4.6% is the lowest for any Indian government since 1991.”
Inaugurating the ninth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit here, Mr. Modi said the country was ready to do business like never before, listing a host initiatives his administration had taken to attract investments and improve the ease of doing business ranking.
“Major financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF have expressed confidence in India’s economic journey. We are focused on removing the barriers which were preventing us from achieving our full potential,” he said, highlighting that the country had moved up the global ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business report by 65 places since 2014 when his government took over at the Centre.
Cheaper to do business
“Doing business in India is not only easier, its also cheaper now because of GST, which has reduced taxes and transaction costs,” he said, addressing the gathering that included industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Sudhir Mehta.
“We are among the largest ecosystems in the world for start-ups. Doing business with us is a great opportunity. This is also because we are among the top 10 FDI destinations in the world,” he said, noting that India had received FDI worth $260 billion, which was 45% of the FDI received in the last 18 years.
In his 20-minute speech, Mr. Modi talked about how his government had ushered in reforms and initiated measures that had helped the economy grow stronger and made India a major destination for investments and business.
According to him, those who visit India regularly would have felt a change in the air. The change is both in terms of direction and intensity. Over the last four years, the focus of the government had been to reduce government and enhance governance, he added.
