India 4th largest economy due to Modi's leadership: Joshi

United News of India

2 days ago

Bengaluru, June 10 (UNI) Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday attributed India's emergence as the world's fourth-largest economy to the political stability and decisive leadership provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last 11 years.
Speaking at a press conference here to mark the completion of 11 years of Modi-led government at the Centre, Joshi said, 'From taking nearly 60 years to reach a $2 trillion economy, India's economy today has crossed $4 trillion under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. This is a result of policy continuity, political stability, and strong governance.'
Joshi said the transformation is visible across sectors — from defence reforms and digital inclusion to social welfare and internal security. He cited figures from the World Bank and Indian government agencies to assert that over 26 crore people have come out of multidimensional poverty since 2014.
'This is not a claim made by us. These are government and World Bank figures,' Joshi emphasised, adding that the Opposition cannot dispute these facts.
He said the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) — pending for over three decades — was a symbol of decisive governance. 'Coordination among the three defence services is now a reality. Earlier governments only spoke of reform; we implemented it,' Joshi remarked. He also pointed to major defence exports worth ₹25,000 crore including BrahMos missiles and INS Vikrant as examples of India's growing self-reliance.
On internal security, the minister said terrorism has declined sharply in recent years. 'Today, except for some pockets in border areas, the country is largely free from terrorism. The Red Corridor is shrinking, and Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that terrorism will be eliminated from India by March 2026,' he said.
Joshi also credited the Modi government with transforming the digital economy through Aadhaar-linked Jan Dhan accounts, UPI payments, and Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT). 'Over ₹44 lakh crore has been directly transferred to beneficiaries, with a saving of ₹3.5 lakh crore due to the elimination of middlemen,' he stated.
He added that more than 6.93 lakh km of optical fibre has been laid under the Digital India mission, bringing affordable internet access to rural India. 'In India, data costs as low as ₹1 per GB have democratised the digital economy. Compare that with $6 in the US and over $3 in Japan,' Joshi said.
He also highlighted India's rise in the Ease of Doing Business rankings — from 142 to 63 in just four years — and cited the massive scale of digital transactions in 2024 alone, amounting to ₹24 lakh crore, with 83% of UPI transactions linked to bank accounts.
Touching on taxation, Joshi said the Modi government has made the tax regime middle-class friendly, raising the zero-tax income limit from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹12 lakh.
On space and technology, he said India's Chandrayaan missions and the privatisation of the space sector have placed the country at the forefront of global innovation.
In conclusion, Joshi said, 'From self-reliance in defence and space to lifting crores out of poverty, the last 11 years under Narendra Modi have redefined governance in India. And all of it began with one thing — political stability and decisive leadership.'
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