Taste for technology, appetite for risks & temperament for reforms helpimg build new India, says PM Narendra Modi.

CHENNAI, July 29 (The CONNECT) -A strong government does not control everything or everyone. It controls the system’s impulse to interfere. A strong government is not restrictive but is responsive. A strong government does not move into every domain. It limits itself and makes space for people’s talents.

Sharing these thoughts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said a strong government’s strength lies in its humility to accept that it cannot know or do everything.

Addressing the 42nd Convocation of Anna University, Modi said reforms are making greater space for people and their talent in every space. He gave examples of freedom and flexibility provided to youth by the National Education Policy and scrapping of 25,000 compliances for ease of business. Removal of angel and retrospective taxes and reduction of corporate tax are encouraging investments and industry. The reforms in drones, space and geospatial sectors are opening up new avenues, he explained.

The Prime Minister recalled the words of Swami Vivekananda in what was known as Madras 125 years ago about the possibilities from the youth of India.  He remarked that “the whole world is looking at India’s youth with hope. Because you are the growth engines of the country and India is the world’s growth engine.”

The Prime Minister also recalled Former President Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s association with Anna University. “May his thoughts and values always inspire you”, he said.

Modi noted that the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event and it tested every country. He remarked that adversities reveal what we are made of. India faced the unknown confidently, thanks to its scientists, healthcare professionals and common people. As a result, he said, every sector in India is bustling with a new life. Industry, investment, innovation or international trade, all are seeing India at the forefront.

The Prime Minister said India emerged as the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer last year. Innovation is becoming a way of life. In just the last 6 years,  the number of recognised start-ups increased by 15,000 percent, he said. The Prime Minister informed that India received a record FDI of over 83 billion dollars last year. Our start-ups too received record funding post-pandemic. Above all this, India’s position in the international trade dynamics is at its best ever.

In this era of tech-led disruptions, the Prime Minister said there are three important factors  in India’s favour. The first factor is there is a taste for technology. There is a growing sense of comfort with the use of technology. Even the poorest of the poor are adapting to it. “The second factor is there is trust in risk-takers. Earlier at social occasions it was difficult for a youngster to say he or she was an entrepreneur. People used to tell them to ‘get settled’, meaning, get a salaried job. Now the situation is the opposite. The third factor is:  there is temperament for reform.” The Prime Minister continued that earlier, “there was a notion that a strong government means it should control everything and everyone. But we have changed this. “