In his first address after his successful visit to the US and France, Prime Minister Modi referred to the BJP’s victories in the Odisha, Haryana, and Delhi assembly elections. He said these wins were a vindication of the trust people have in his government, which is “working at thrice the pace of the previous dispensation”.
Among the government’s top priorities are envisaging and implementing far-reaching economic reforms to transform the lives of the poor and the middle class.
“When I came for the last GBS, the general elections were about to be held,” Modi said. “I had with all humility said then that in my third term, Bharat will move at thrice the previous speed. I am satisfied that this is clearly visible and has the support of all. In June 2024, we won the Odisha assembly election, then Haryana and now… the people of Delhi have expressed their full support. This is an acknowledgement that people are moving shoulder to shoulder in this march towards a Viksit Bharat.”
Committed to reducing govt interference
He made special mention of the increase in the tax exemption limit to ₹12 lakh per year from ₹7 lakh, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), banking reforms, reduction in red tape for property rights, and all-round change in aspirational districts. The BNS came into effect in July 2024, replacing the Indian Penal Code. “The confidence in Bharat among nations and at the world forum today is unprecedented,” Modi said, adding that India is either at the centre of global changes or is leading them.
Along with carrying out the necessary reforms, Modi expressed his commitment to reducing the interference of the government in the lives of people. “My government will establish a Deregulation Commission soon,” he said, echoing a theme of the Economic Survey.
The Prime Minister wondered what the state of the nation would have been had the people not “blessed” the BJP, taking aim at the opposition and its “negative politics” as well as its gradualism. “Bharat is in the midst of a new revolution,” he said. “This would not have happened — would so many changes have taken place? The country has seen the Congress’ speed of development and the Congress’ speed of corruption… In 2014, the Congress was planning that by 2044, India will move from the 11th to the third-largest economy in the world. This was a 30-year time period and this was the Congress speed of development. In one decade, India is among the top five economies and I can say with full responsibility that it will be the third largest in the near future.”
The country has shed the mindset of slavery prevalent in previous regimes, the Prime Minister said, citing examples of changes that have been made to bring this to an end. “The baggage of this tradition of slavery under the British was still being carried,” he said. “It was heard for long that justice delayed is justice denied but there was no thought given to how this could be changed. Some would not let the change take place… A perception was spread that negativity is good for democracy.”
Enumerating the various reforms and sharing examples of how these have changed the lives of people, the PM said that in the last seven-eight months since the BNS had come into force, a perceptible change is visible in the justice system, which has become more swift and efficient. In some cases, the whole process of justice was completed in days.
The Swamitva Yojana has conferred property rights while the Aspirational Districts programme has transformed the lives of people. Five hundred blocks have now been identified as Aspirational Blocks for development, he said. “Politics too has become performance-oriented today. Only those connected to the ground will survive,” Modi said, adding that his change in approach has lifted 250 million people out of poverty in the last decade and led to the emergence of a neo middle class.
The increase in the zero tax limit from ₹7 lakh to ₹12 lakh will give a boost to economic activity, he said. Modi underlined that his government is proactive and sensitive and has the trust of the people. The banking sector was in a fragile state before 2014 and access to credit was difficult for the common people.
“My government carried out reforms at various levels in the banking sector,” he said. “Our strategy has been—banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded.”
