Union Home Minister Amit Shah Addresses IGF Annual Investment Summit

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, addressed the IGF Annual Investment Summit-NXT10 in Mumbai, Maharashtra today. On this occasion, many dignitaries, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde, were present.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that upcoming months will witness elections in India, where democracy marked its beginning. He stated that the upcoming elections in India will shape the destiny of the country for the next 25 years. Home Minister emphasized the significant transformations took place in every sector in the last 10 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Shri Shah pointed out that the decisions made in the next 5 years will determine where India will stand in the centenary year of independence in 2047. He highlighted that these elections are not only about democracy but also a celebration of synergy between democracy and security, ensuring the well-being of the poor, public welfare, tradition, and technology.

The Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India is progressing towards being self-confident, self-reliant. He added that India now has a dynamic government from a dormant one, having a progressive growth, and moving towards becoming a top economy from its earlier fragile state.

He mentioned that this journey will continue for decades, and the goals set by Prime Minister Modi for India, to be fully developed, self-reliant, and counted among the top economies by 2047, will certainly be achieved. He emphasized that we have the performance of the past 10 years and a roadmap for the next 25 years to attain these goals.

Shri Amit Shah emphasized that to understand the changes in the past 10 years, we have to compare these transformations against those of the previous regime. This would be the best parameter to evaluate the performance of the present government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He pointed out that in 2014, the economy was deteriorating, investor confidence was low, corruption scandals worth 12 lakh crore had shaken the nation's confidence, crony capitalism was at its peak, inflation was soaring, fiscal deficit was out of control, and ease of doing business ranking was significantly low. The country's security system was also weak. He explained that the people’s decision to give a decisive mandate to Shri Narendra Modi in 2014 led to the formation of this government. Shri Shah mentioned that before this, the country experienced 30 years of political instability, and after a long time, a full mandate was achieved by any political party. He stated that from there, the growth story of India began with development in security, education, innovation, and the economy. Shri Shah mentioned that the average inflation rate between 2004 and 2014 was 8.2 percent, reaching double digits in 2010, 2011, and 2013. However, today, it has been consistently maintained below 5 percent. He highlighted the Modi government's efforts in correcting banking and forex mismanagement, gave way for new type of politics in the country.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation stated that for a long time, our country's politics was plagued by four evils – dynastic politics, casteism, corruption, and appeasement – with no place for merit. He mentioned that in the last 10 years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, not only in parliament, but in all elections across the country, the politics of direct performance has been established. He said that now governments that perform will come to power, and for the first time, our government has worked to create an atmosphere separate from dynastic politics and casteism. Shri Shah said that during the previous government's tenure, the country experienced policy paralysis, where every minister considered themselves as the Prime Minister, and the actual Prime Minister was not acknowledged. He mentioned that in the last 10 years of the previous government, not a single policy was formulated. In contrast, Prime Minister Modi, in 10 years, has crafted over 40 policies, shaping the country's economy and presenting the best example of a policy-driven state.

The Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah said that the Modi government has taken more than 50 transformative decisions in its 10-year tenure, recognized globally for changing the direction and destiny of India. He highlighted key decisions, such as demonetization in 2016 to curb corruption and counterfeit currency, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017, significant steps to address the issues of Non-Performing Assets (NPA), and the expansion of the digital landscape through Jan Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile (JAM) trinity. Shri Shah stated that the surgical and air strikes sent a strong message to the World that no one can challenge India's army and borders. He emphasized that Prime Minister Modi has ended the practice of triple talaq, granting rights to millions of Muslim mothers and sisters. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) provided citizenship rights to persecuted refugees, and the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, permanently integrated Kashmir with India. Regarding education, Shri Shah mentioned the introduction of the New Education Policy, which reflects the fragrance of India’s future and our values. He highlighted the Nari Shakti Vandan Act, which brought 33% reservation for women in legislative assemblies and parliament, empowering women in policy-making. He highlighted the government's efforts to replace the criminal justice system created by the British with three new laws, ensuring that justice is delivered in any case within three years of the trial, eliminating delays and outdated practices.

Shri Amit Shah stated that neither did anyone understand India's pride, nor did anyone worry about enhancing it. He emphasized that with the development of the country, every citizen has a direct connection. He said that Prime Minister Modi has built the collective self-confidence of the nation by respecting all our ideals. Shri Shah mentioned that our new Parliament building is the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, representing the world's most modern and grand democratic system. He stated that Modi ji has transformed Rajpath into Kartavya Path, symbolizing a path of duty. Shri Shah highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts in cracking down terrorism, left-wing extremism, and armed groups to establish peace in the country. He mentioned that there were three hotspots in the country- Northeast, Left-Wing Extremism affected areas, and Kashmir. He stated that violence in these three hotspots has reduced by more than 72%, over 10,000 extremists have surrendered, and a significant transformation has occurred.

The Union Home Minister mentioned that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has undertaken the most significant task of providing the basic amenities to the millions of people and connecting them with country's development. He stated that PM Modi has provided gas cylinders to 10 crore people, toilets to 12 crore people, piped water supply to 14 crore people, an annual financial assistance of 6 thousand rupees to 11 crore farmers, homes to 4 crore people, and healthcare coverage of up to 5 lakh rupees to 60 crore people. Shri Shah emphasized that no country can progress by leaving 60 crore people behind, and today we have a market of 130 crore people.

Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Modi has made many reforms in last 10 years. He said that in 2013-14, there were 91 thousand kilometres of National Highways in the country, which increased to 1,45,000 km in 2023. He said that PM Modi has set a target of reducing logistical expenses in the country by 10 percent by 2030 so that our products will become more competitive in the World. Shri Shah mentioned that the pace of construction of National Highways has increased to 28 Km per day from 11.6 Km per day, earlier there were four thousand Road Over Bridges (ROBs) in the country, now there are 11 thousand ROBs. Earlier there were only five metro cities, now the number has touched 20, the number of airports has increased from 74 to 150 in the country today. He said that the economy does not run only on figures, to change the economy there is a need to change all the things which affect the economy and the Modi government has worked on this aspect in the last 10 years. He said that capital expenditure in Railways has increased from Rs 2 lakh crore to Rs 5 lakh 22 thousand crores, and in Ports and Tourism it has also been doubled. The capital expenditure in the last budget of the previous government was Rs 2 lakh crore, which has increased to Rs 11 lakh crore in the interim budget presented by the Modi government last month. He said that these figures show how the country is moving forward in a planned manner.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation stated that the average GDP in 2013-14 was 6.9 per cent which is 8.4 per cent today, per capita income was 3889 US dollars, which has become 6000 US dollars today. The value of export of electronic items which stood at 7.6 billion US dollars, has increased to 23 billion US dollars today, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has increased from 305 billion US dollars to 600 billion US dollars and the number of start-ups has increased from 350 to 1.17 lakh. The index of the Bombay Stock Exchange has increased from 22 thousand to 73 thousand, which is a huge indicator of our robust economy. He said that during the previous government, the number of direct taxpayers were 4.7 crore, which has increased to 8.18 crore today and indirect taxpayers have increased from 60 lakh to 1 crore 40 lakh. In the Global Innovation Index, India has risen from 81^st to 40^th position. People using broadband in India were 6 crores in 2013-14 which is 90 crores today. Shri Shah added that 10 years ago we were the 11th largest economy in the world, today India has become the 5^th largest economy.

Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India has emerged from a dark spot to a bright spot on the global map and India has seen the transformation from a silent Prime Minister to a vibrant Prime Minister. He said that there has been a large-scale transformation in the country, there has been political stability, corruption-free governance, public welfare policies, investment-friendly agenda and a peaceful environment. He stated that today the country has got such a visionary Prime Minister and leader in the form of Shri Narendra Modi who has not taken a single day leave in the last 23 years and has been continuously dedicated to work. He said that we have seen a government embroiled in scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore, but Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the Prime Minister of the country for over 23 years, and during his political tenure the opposition cannot level any allegation of corruption against him. Shri Shah added that in the form of Narendra Modi, we have found a visionary Prime Minister who, along with being prudent, has the ability to change the era. The Modi government has connected the youth by giving them a platform for investment, innovation and ideas, which has marked a new beginning.

The Union Home Minister said so much work has been done in the last 10 years, like, one university every week and 2 new colleges have been opened every day, 55 patents and 600 trademarks have been registered every day, Mudra loans to 1.5 lakh poor have been disbursed every day, created 37 new start-ups every day, UPI transactions worth Rs 16000 crores carried out every day, 3 new Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been opened every day, construction of 14 km railway track has been done every day, more than 50000 LPG connections have been given and 75000 people have been uplifted above poverty line every day. Shri Shah said that today, under the Modi government, 25 crore people were brought above the poverty line. He said that Prime Minister Modi has worked with passion for the development, security and culture of the country. It took us 67 years to become a 1 trillion US dollar economy, another 8 years to reach 2 trillion but Modi ji took us to 3 trillion in just 5 years and by the end of this year we will reach 4 trillion. He said that since 1947, FDI worth 1000 billion US dollars have come so far, out of which 600 billion US dollars have come in the last 8 years. He said that earlier FDI was limited to 7-8 cities, today FDI reaches 31 states & UTs. Earlier FDI in India used to come from only a few countries, today FDI comes to India from 160 countries, earlier FDI used to come in only a few sectors and now it comes in 61 sectors.

Shri Amit Shah said that during the G20 summit, the Delhi Declaration was adopted unanimously and the African Union was included in the G20. He said the World today keenly watches the opinion of the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on every global issue. Shri Shah said that Modi ji has transformed India into a leader in many new areas and in the next 5 years we will give direction to the economy of the entire world. He said that Modi ji has set before us the goal of becoming the world's third largest economy with 5 trillion US dollars by 2027, the target of exports of 2 trillion US dollars by 2030, setting up a space station by 2025, hosting the Olympic Games in 2036, reaching the Moon in 2040 and becoming a "Vishwa Guru" as a fully developed nation in 2047. He said that India's development can happen not only with the ambition of the government but with the confidence of the citizens.