Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech laid out a vision for India to become a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed nation) by 2047, according to India Inc.
In his 98-minute address, Modi covered a range of topics, including the legacy of freedom fighters, corruption, India’s progress over the years, issues related to atrocities against women, and the ongoing unrest in Bangladesh.
Anish Shah, President of FICCI, said, “The Prime Minister has laid out a national vision encompassing steps that would shape India’s growth, drive innovation and scale up our position as a global leader across various sectors of the economy. The Prime Minister’s vision for India reflects the aspirations of all sections of our society and would galvanise all Indians to work towards the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047”.
“Amongst the various areas the Prime Minister outlined in his address, we have particularly noted the points related to transforming India into a global manufacturing hub, focusing on strengthening indigenous design capabilities, improving self-reliance and technological self-sufficiency in critical segments of industry such as chips and semiconductors as well as the need to be recognised for commitment to quality with Indian standards being looked at setting international benchmarks”, Shah added.
CII President Sanjiv Puri said, “The key takeaways of the speech presented by the Prime Minister, have been the staunch commitment towards environmentally sustainable development, green hydrogen, developing manufacturing excellence, innovation and the quest for a technologically advanced India, especially in futuristic areas such as semi- conductors and design. This, CII concurs, would be a critical milestone in our journey towards a developed India. The emphasis on facilitating ease of living in a mission mode, women-led development, facilitating ODOP initiative for traditional artisans, improving the quality of life in the urban areas, skilling the youth, among others would pave the way for growth with inclusion,” Puri said.
The standout out feature of the speech has been the emphasis on state level reforms including that at the district and Panchayat level, he said, adding that the PM’s suggestion that even two reforms carried out per year at the sub national level are sufficient to transform the country is spot on, and in line with CII suggestions on governance reforms.
“With the blueprint for sustaining high growth with inclusion in place, CII is confident that India would soon emerge as the third largest economy despite the daunting global milieu and would soon assume a leadership role in the comity of nations,” Puri said.
Assocham Secretary General Deepak Sood said the prime minister has a great ability to connect with the people of the country.
“His address from the ramparts of Red Fort would reinforce the enthusiasm of 140 crore Indians to work together and realise the national objectives of achieving excellence with the help of technology and innovation in agriculture, manufacturing, health services and education to make our country Atmanirbhar across different sectors of the economy,” Sood said.