IMF sees India as 'bright spot' in global economy, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees India as a "bright spot" in the global economy and as per the World Bank, India is in a better position to deal with the global headwinds than many other countries.

This is because of India's strong "macroeconomic fundamentals", Modi said while virtually addressing the inaugural function of the 7th edition of Invest Madhya Pradesh-Global Investors Summit in Indore.

In the past eight years, the government has increased the speed of reforms and removed many hurdles in the way of investments.

Today's new India is moving ahead relying on the strength of its private sector, he said.

“We have opened strategic sectors like defence, mining and space for the private sector,” he said.

India's modern and multi-model infrastructure is also giving a boost to investment possibilities, he said.

Modi said the optimism for India is driven by its strong democracy, young demography and political stability.

Due to these, India is taking decisions that boost the ease of living and ease of doing business, he said.

He said the 5G network is being expanded and the optical fibre network is also reaching villages.

India is no.1 in smartphone data consumption.

The country is receiving record-breaking Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), he noted.

The theme of the two-day summit is 'Madhya Pradesh-The Future Ready State'.

Modi said there is an important role of Madhya Pradesh in building a developed India.

From faith, spirituality to tourism, from agriculture to education and skill development, Madhya Pradesh is “ajab gajab and sajag” (amazing, wonderful and alert), he said.

“I can say this with confidence that Madhya Pradesh has the potential and resolve and will go two steps ahead in your (investors) progress,” Modi said.

He said the IMF sees India as a bright spot in the global economy, while the World Bank says India is in a better position to deal with global headwinds than many other countries.

"When we talk about a developed India, it is not just our expression but it is the resolve of every Indian," he said.

Even during one of the worst crises of the century, we took the path of reforms, he said.

India has been on the path of "reform, transform and perform" since 2014, the PM said.

The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has imparted greater momentum to it.

As a result, India has become an attractive destination for investment, he said.

"In eight years, we have doubled the speed of construction of national highways.

"During this period, the number of operational airports in India has doubled.

"India's port handling capacity and port turnaround have improved phenomenally," he said.

India's focus on strengthening multi-model infrastructure is opening up new possibilities of investment in the country, he said.

Modi said dedicated freight corridors, industrial corridors, expressways, logistic parks are becoming the identity of new India.

For the first time, there is a national platform for building infrastructure in India in the form of the Gatishakti National Master Plan, he said.

"Be it health, agriculture, nutrition, skill, innovation, new possibilities are waiting for you (investors) in India," he said and added it is time to build a new global supply chain along with India.

He said the Global Investors Summit is organised at a time when the 'Amrit Kaal' of India's independence has started.

“We all are working together to build a developed India,” he said.

Not only Indians, but every organisation and every expert in the world is confident about it, he said.

According to Morgan Stanley, India is moving towards becoming the world's third largest economy in the next 4-5 years, while the CEO of McKinsey has said this is not only India's decade, but India's century, the PM noted.

He said a decisive government gives unprecedented speed to development and takes important decisions for the country at the same speed.

The PM also said today's new India is moving ahead relying on the strength of its private sector.

In the past eight years, the government has increased the speed of reforms.

The government has removed many hurdles in the way of investments and introduced banks' recapitalisation, One Nation One Tax in the form of GST, made corporate tax globally competitive...and given permission to 100 per cent FDI in several sectors through automatic route, he said.

Modi said Madhya Pradesh has also joined the national single window system, started by the Centre recently.

About 50,000 approvals have been given through it so far.

India's modern infrastructure, multi-model infrastructure is also giving a boost to investment possibilities, he said.

All these efforts are giving a new strength to Make In India and the manufacturing sector of the country is growing at a fast pace.

The incentive of more than Rs 2.5 lakh has been announced under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, the PM said.

Investments worth hundreds of crores have come in Madhya Pradesh because of this scheme, he said, adding the scheme has been important in making MP a big pharma hub and textile hub.

“I urge the investors coming to MP to take maximum advantage of the PLI scheme,” he said.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said India will be among the fastest growing economies in the G20 group this year, he noted.

The key objectives of the Global Investors Summit are - showcasing the industrial ecosystem of the state, promoting the state policies, consultation with industrial organisations to formulate industry-friendly policies, collaboration opportunities, promoting export potential and buyer-seller meets and vendor development, an official earlier said.