‘Viksit Bharat’ journey a shared national mission, says FM S
‘Viksit Bharat’ journey a shared national mission, says FM Sitharaman
India’s journey to become a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 is not merely an aspiration but a shared national mission powered by a vision for inclusive, sustainable
NEW DELHI — India’s journey to become a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 is not
merely an aspiration but a shared national mission powered by a vision for
inclusive, sustainable, and innovation-led growth, Union Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman has said.
During her address at the Hoover Institution at Stanford
University in the US, the Finance Minister said that India has risen from the
world’s tenth-largest economy to the fifth-largest, a clear sign of “our
growing strength and global relevance”.
“Despite the pandemic shock and a banking crisis, our
progress over the past decade, anchored in strong macroeconomic fundamentals
and steady reforms, gives us confidence and direction for the road ahead,” she
told the gathering during her keynote address, titled ‘Laying the foundations
for a developed India #ViksitBharat by 2047’.
FM Sitharaman said that some of the works done in India
stand out, and one such example is that of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
and its success.
“More than a billion digital identities have been created
using DPI. Using these digital identities, bank accounts of people were
created, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, money was transferred by the
government with a click of a button. DPI also came in useful in administering
vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Finance Minister mentioned during
her speech.
“In my interactions with the G20, the World Bank or the
IMF, this singular population-scale achievement of India is repeatedly lauded,”
she added.
According to the Union Minister, over the next two
decades, sustaining India’s growth momentum calls for a fresh approach grounded
in bold reforms, stronger domestic capacities, renewed institutional
partnerships and adaptive strategies suited for the evolving global landscape.
“The last two Union Budgets have laid the groundwork for
this transformation, with a clear multi-sectoral policy agenda,” she informed.
As we lay the foundation for a developed India, we must
stay committed to long-term goals, without losing sight of present realities,
she stressed.
The global order is changing. That poses challenges but
also opportunities. We must be prepared to tackle the former while seizing the
latter.
“A Viksit Bharat will be shaped not only by the
government but by the collective effort of every citizen. This vision calls
upon us to think boldly, act inclusively, and stay resilient and
flexible," said the Finance Minister.
A vibrant and thriving network of small and medium
enterprises is essential for domestic manufacturing to grow.
“The government has undertaken numerous initiatives to
support MSMEs, from easing access to credit, redefining size thresholds,
facilitating prompt payments from large buyers and simplifying compliance
burdens,” according to the Minister.
The Open Network for Digital Commerce, launched in April
2022, has successfully onboarded more than 7,64,000 vendors across 616 cities.
“Our next focus is reducing regulatory frictions,
digitising approvals, and integrating MSMEs into global value chains. Special
support to women-led and rural enterprises will help enhance economic
opportunities and ensure more inclusive growth,” FM Sitharaman noted.
Over the past decade, a significant thrust on
infrastructure development has also created a strong foundation for
manufacturing-led growth by bolstering investor confidence, she added.
This has been enabled by a more than four-fold increase in
the Union government’s capital expenditure (Capex) between 2017-18 and the
2025-26 Budget.
“Over the last decade, we have undertaken structural
reforms, rationalising over 20,000 compliances, decriminalising business laws
and digitising public services to reduce friction. Our experience with
implementing the Business Reform Action Plan by different state governments has
demonstrated that deregulation is a powerful catalyst for industrial growth,”
the Finance Minister further stated.
A report by Indiaspora and BCG shows that Indian
first-generation immigrants founded 72 unicorns between 2018 and 2023. These
unicorns were worth at least USD 195 billion in valuation and employed nearly
55,000 people.
More than 65 per cent of Global Capability Centres (GCC)
in India have their headquarters in the US. These GCCs provide
high-value-added, bespoke services in areas such as R&D, management
consulting and auditing.
“While the US is a mature startup hub which has developed
over 50-60 years, India’s startup journey is a nascent one. Over the course of
the last decade, the government’s focus was on reducing the cost of
entrepreneurial risk-taking by removing regulatory and infrastructural
barriers,” she emphasised.
