Irresponsible fiscal policies costly in long term, says PM

NEW DELHI: A week before he hosts world leaders at the G20 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that the ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ model can be the guiding principle for the welfare of a world shifting from a “GDP-centric approach” to a “human-centric one”.

“Irrespective of the size of the GDP, every voice matters,” Modi said in an exclusive interview late last week at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence. US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Saudi Arabia’s King Mohammed bin Salman and other leaders will gather at the newly-constructed Bharat Mandapam conference hall on September 9-10 for the pre-eminent annual meeting of developing and developed countries.

“Many positive impacts are coming out of India’s G20 Presidency. Some of them are very close to my heart,” Modi said in the 80-minute interview, focused on G20 and related issues. G20 accounts for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and 65 per cent of the world population.

India took over the G-20’s presidency from Indonesia last November, and will hand over to Brazil in December. Modi said that while it is true G20 is an influential grouping in terms of its combined economic might, “a GDP-centric view of the world is now changing to a human-centric one”, and just as a new world order was seen after World War 2, a new world order is taking shape post-Covid.

“The shift to a human-centric approach has begun globally and we are playing the role of a catalyst. India’s G20 Presidency has also sowed the seeds of confidence in the countries of the so-called Third World,” he said.

“The Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas model that has shown the way in India can also be a guiding principle for the welfare of the world.” While the interview was meant to be focused on G20, Modi also spoke about India’s economic progress, its growing stature on the world stage, cyber-security, debt trap, bio-fuel policy, UN reforms, climate change and his vision of what India will be like in 2047.

“For a long time, India was perceived as a nation of over one billion hungry stomachs. But now, India is being seen as a nation of over one billion aspirational minds, more than two billion skilled hands, and hundreds of millions of young people,” Modi said.

“The period till 2047 is a huge opportunity. Indians who are living in this era have a great chance to lay a foundation for growth that will be remembered for the next 1,000 years!” he added. “By 2047, I am sure that our country will be among the developed countries.

Our poor people will comprehensively win the battle against poverty. Health, education and social sector outcomes will be among the best in the world. Corruption, casteism and communalism will have no place in our national life,” he said.

‘Natural for India to hold G20 events in Arunachal, J&K’ 

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said it is natural for India to hold G20 meetings in every part of its territory as he dismissed Chinese objections over some of the events being organised in Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.

As part of its efforts to showcase India’s cultural and regional diversity at a global stage, the Modi government has hosted G20 events across the country’s length and breadth.China, a G20 member, and Pakistan, which is not a member of the bloc, had objected to the decision to hold one of the events in Kashmir, which they call “disputed”.

China also disputes India’s sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh. India has already dismissed claims by China and Pakistan.“Such a question would be valid if we had refrained from conducting meetings in those venues.

Ours is such a vast, beautiful and diverse nation. When G20 meetings are happening, isn’t it natural that meetings will be held in every part of our country,” Modi said in an exclusive interview to PTI late last week. India held the third G20 working group meeting on tourism for three days from May 22 in Srinagar.

Delegates of all G20 countries, barring China, visited the picturesque Valley for the event. A large number of delegates had also visited Arunachal Pradesh in March for a G20 event.

Dismissing Chinese claims, India had then said that it is free to hold meetings on its own territory. By the time India’s G20 presidency term ends, Modi said, over 220 meetings would have taken place across 60 cities in all 28 states and eight union territories, and added that over one lakh participants from around 125 nationalities would witness the skills of Indians.

PM Modi envisions India as developed nation by 2047 

NEW DELHI: PM Modi has said that India’s economic growth is a “natural by-product” of his nine-year-old government’s political stability, as he expressed optimism that it will be a developed nation by 2047 with “corruption, casteism and communalism” having no place in our national life.

The prime minister also stressed on the need for timely and clear communication of policy stance by central banks, and policy actions by each country in their fight against inflation so that it can prevent negative repercussions on others countries.

While most advanced economies are facing an economic slowdown, chronic shortages, high inflation, and ageing populations, the Indian economy is acknowledged to be the fastest-growing large economy with the largest youth population.

“For a long time in world history, India was one of the top economies of the world. Later, due to the impact of colonisation of various kinds, our global footprint was reduced,” he said.

“But now, India is again on the rise. The speed with which we jumped five spots, from the 10th largest economy to the fifth largest in less than a decade has conveyed the fact that India means business,” he noted.

Adding a fourth ‘D’ - development - to the 3Ds of democracy, demography and diversity, he said the period till 2047 is one of huge opportunity