Talking at the Advancing Asia summit co-hosted by the International Monetary Fund and the government of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “My agenda for reform to transform is yet to be finished. Entrepreneurship is booming, following a series of steps we have taken.”
The PM, along with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the dias, said reform of global institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF has to be an on-going process. “I am very happy that the IMF has decided to finalise the next round of quota changes by October 2017,” he said, a day after the central government tabled a supplementary demand of grant of £6.96 billion in the Parliament for increasing India's quota in IMF with higher voting rights. Modi said several people have said the 21st century is and shall remain the Asian Century. “We are a ray of hope for global economic recovery. India has also dispelled the myth that democracy and rapid economic growth cannot go together,” Modi said. He also added that his country has shown the world that a large, diverse country like India can be managed in a way that can promote economic growth and maintain social stability.
With its focus on macro economic stability, clean out corruption and interfere in decisions of banks and regulators, his government is helping the farm sector but not by giving hand-outs. “We aim to double farmer incomes. We have increased investment in the rural and agriculture sector, because that is where a majority of India still lives.”
