Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the post budget webinar on ‘Financing for growth and aspirational economy’ said that it is imperative that many recently deregulated sectors and start-ups in India should get all the support of the financial sector.
He urged financial sector to develop their ideas about new businesses and emerging sectors. Reminding that the government has derestricted the entry of private players to drone sector, space sector and geo-spatial sector, PM Modi said that the enterprises which are already ahead in these fields should be proactive and should get full support from the financial sector. “Our financing sector will have to consider innovative Financing and Sustainable Risk Management of new Futuristic Ideas and Initiatives,” he said.
The Prime Minister said that the momentum of rapid growth of India’s economy is reflection of our economic decisions and its strong foundation. “By encouraging foreign capital flows, reducing tax on infrastructure investment, creating institutions like NIIF, Gift City, new DFIs, we have tried to accelerate financial and economic growth”, he said. “The country’s commitment to the widespread use of digital technology in finance is now reaching the next level. Be it 75 Digital Banking Units or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) in 75 districts, they reflect our vision”, he added.
The Prime Minister talked at length about the vision of finding sectors where India can figure in top 3 countries. He asked whether India can emerge among top 3 countries in the sectors like constructions, startups, recently opened up sectors like drones, space and geo-spatial data. He emphasized on the support from the financial sector to make this a reality. “The expansion of entrepreneurship, innovation and search for new markets among the startups will happen only when there is deep understanding of these ideas of future among those who finance them,” he said.
Referring to Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, He stressed on the necessity to explore different models of financing projects that can reduce our dependence on other countries and he cited PM Gatishakti National Master Plan as an example of such model.
Inorder to achieve a balanced development of the country, the Prime Minister said that Aspirational Districts Programme and development of eastern India and the North East is very essential, and he reiterated the importance of participation of financial institutions in such programmes.
“Similarly, if we look at Western India, we will see a lot of economic activity there. Eastern India is known for all kinds of natural resources, but from the point of view of economic development, the situation could be improved a lot there. Infrastructure could be improved a lot. Similarly, the entire North East and its development is a priority for us. It is also necessary to think in the direction of increasing your participation in these areas,” PM Modi said.
In direction to achieve net-zero carbon emmissions by 2070, PM Modi stated that implementation of green financing is the ‘need of the hour’ and that financial help should be extended to environment-friendly projects.
“India is doing a lot in the field of solar power. India is creating Disaster Resilient Infrastructure here. We are giving priority to Disaster Resilient Infrastructure even in the 6 Light House Projects… Your support is essential for the work being done in these areas. It is currently in the form of a Light House Project model, but if the people working in this type of area get financial help, they will replicate this model and take them to smaller cities. So our technology will start spreading rapidly and the pace of work will increase,” he further said.
The Prime Minister stressed the link between India’s aspirations and strength of MSME. “We have done many fundamental reforms and made new schemes to strengthen MSMEs. The success of these reforms is dependent on strengthening their financing”, he said.
The Prime Minister insisted that Industry 4.0 is not possible till the country moves ahead in the fields like fintech, agritech, meditech and skill development. Help of financial institutions in such areas will take India to new heights in industry 4.0, said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister stressed that a big base of Indian economy is rural economy. Government is taking steps like strengthening SHGs, Kisan Credit Cards, Farmer Producer Organisations, and Common Service Centers. He asked the gathering to keep rural economy in the centre of their policies.
He said India’s aspirations are also linked with natural farming and organic farming. “If someone is coming forward to do new work in them, then it is necessary to think about how our financial institutions can help him”, he added.
Referring to the work and investment in the health sector, the Prime Minister emphasized that in order to tackle the challenges relating to medical education, it is critical to have more and more medical institutions. “Can our financial institutions and banks can prioritize this in their business planning”, the Prime Minister asked.
