To assess the rapid pace of growth of the country and how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had put development at the core of his philosophy, one should look at the slew of developmental programmes launched by the PM while touring various parts of the country over the past two days.
On July 8, he launched projects worth Rs 6,100 crore in the erstwhile Warangal district of Telangana State. On the same day, he proceeded to Bikaner in Rajasthan to launch projects worth Rs 24,300 crore.
In Telangana, he inaugurated the 176-km-long National Highway project and the Railway production unit at Kazipet, while in Rajasthan, he inaugurated expressways, green energy corridors, electricity supply lines, ESI Hospital, reconstruction of the Bikaner Railway Station project.
On July 7, Modi commenced projects worth Rs 12,100 crore, including those of the railway lines development, drinking water schemes, road development, development of ghats, students’hostel, and the GorakhpurRailway Station reconstruction works.
The same day, he proceeded to Raipur, capital of Chhattisgarh, and laid the foundation stone for the development of five national highways at a total cost of Rs 7,500 crore, railroad line, Indian Oil Corporation bottling plant, and so on. In fact, the PM commenced projects worth Rs 50,000 crore over two days and dedicated them to the nation.
What does Modi have to say wherever he goes across the nation? He declared in Warangal: “Today’s India represents energetic and motivated young India. We have entered the golden era of the 21st century. We should use every second of the golden era.”
Thinking so, the Modi government has been functioning with unprecedented speed. The government increased the allocations for capital investments in the last year’s budget to Rs 10 lakh crore. Capital investments in the country reached 33% as against 24.18% across the globe.
Over the past nine years, four-lane highways have increased more than two-fold. When Modi came to power in 2013-14, the total length of the four-lane highways was 18,371 km. Now, the length has increased to 44,654 km. The national highway network stretches to a length of 1.45 lakh km.
No country other than the US has such a large national highway network. During the past nine years of Modi’s regime, the network increased by 59 per cent. The increase of the network in Telangana state is from 2,500 km to 5,000 km.
The annual growth rate of the country is put at 7.2 per cent. The agriculture sector recorded 5% growth. Our exports have been described as record-level at $ 50 billion. Rice exports include more than $10 billion, while sugar exports crossed $ 5 billion.
The country’s manufacturing zone registered an annual growth rate of 8.36. The contribution of the sector to the GDP is put at 16-17%. Several overseas companies are establishing their units in the country. By virtue of Modi’s charisma whichever country Modi visits, industrialists from that country are coming forward to establish their units in India. Micron Co alone announced to set up a semi-conductor assembly and testing unit investing 2.75 billion dollars in India when Modi recently visited the USA. The production of mining industry is up by at least 12%. In construction activity too, India is set to emerge as the third biggest market in the next two years. The country is not far away from becoming a $ 5 trillion economy. The GDP of the country in 2023 was $ 3.75 trillion.
One should keep in mind that nine years ago, under the leadership of economist Manmohan Singh, the country became a $ 2 trillion GDP. The National Statistical Office of India put the per capita income during 2023 at Rs 98,374 crore. The increase of the Gross National Income of the country was Rs 136.04 crore, indicating how fast the people’s income has been increasing in the country.
“For a country like India, human resources, democracy, increasing demand are described as boons. No other country has these characteristics,” Modi said in a Twitter message in 2014. Soon after he became the PM, he prepared the development strategy of the country. That is why, the 10th largest economy in the country went on to become the fifth largest economy in the world. In another four years, the country is likely to become the third largest economy, according to economists. During the past nine years, Modi-led India has surpassed countries like Britain, France, Italy, Canada, and Brazil.
That is why, wherever Modi goes, many Indians and foreigners welcome him. That is why organisations like Morning Consult declared him several times as “the most popular leader in world”. Is it feasible for corrupt Congress and other regional parties to challenge Modi who believes in development mantra?
