"In the last decade the BRICS Business Council has played a very important role"
Speech by Nerendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, at the 15th meeting of the Brics Summit Business Forum Leaders. teleSUR
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00:00 Excellencies, leaders of BRICS business community, my namaskar, good evening to you
00:15 all. I am glad that immediately after arriving
00:24 in South Africa, our very first engagement is the BRICS Business Forum.
00:30 First and foremost, I thank President Ramaphosa for his invitation and for
00:38 organizing this meeting. My heartiest congratulations and best
00:45 wishes on the 10th anniversary of the BRICS Business Council.
00:50 In the last 10 years, the BRICS Business Council has played a vital role in
00:58 enhancing our economic cooperation. In 2009, when the first BRICS Summit was
01:05 held, the world was just coming out of a massive financial crisis.
01:12 At that time, BRICS emerged as a ray of hope for the global economy.
01:21 In the present times also, amongst the COVID pandemic, tensions, and disputes,
01:30 the world is dealing with economic challenges.
01:35 In such times, once again, the role of BRICS countries is important.
01:40 Friends, despite volatility in global economy, India is the world's fastest
01:48 growing major economy. Very soon, India will become a $5 trillion economy.
01:58 There is absolutely no doubt that in the coming years, India will be the growth
02:05 engine of the world. And the reason for this is that India has
02:12 converted crises and difficulties into opportunities for economic improvement.
02:19 In the last few years, we have carried out reforms in mission mode, and these
02:26 reforms have helped in continuously improving ease of doing business in India.
02:33 We have also reduced the compliance burden.
02:36 We have removed red tape and instead laid the red carpet.
02:40 There has been a boost in investor confidence due to introduction of GST and
02:46 the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
02:51 Areas such as defense and space that were considered restricting have today been
02:56 opened up for the private sector. We have laid special focus on public
03:03 service delivery and good governance. By leveraging technology, India has taken
03:10 a massive leap towards financial inclusion.
03:14 The maximum benefit of this has reached our women in rural India.
03:20 Today, with one click, millions of people in India get direct benefit transfers.
03:28 So far, more than $360 billion on such transfers have been made.
03:37 This has increased transparency in service delivery and reduced corruption and middlemen.
03:45 India has the cheapest per gigabyte cost. Today, in India, from street vendors to
03:54 large shopping malls, all use UPI, that is, the Unified Payments Interface.
04:03 Today, India is the country with the highest number of digital transactions in the world.
04:11 Countries like UAE, Singapore, France are also joining this platform.
04:20 There are several possibilities of working on this with BRICS countries also.
04:28 The large-scale investment being done on infrastructure in India is changing the
04:34 country's landscape. In this year's budget, we have kept a
04:39 provision of approximately $120 billion for infrastructure.
04:46 By way of this investment, we are laying a strong foundation for a new India of the
04:51 future. Rapid changes are coming into effect in
04:55 all areas of railways, roads, waterways, and airways.
05:00 Today, in India, new highways are being constructed at a speed of 10,000 kilometers
05:09 per year. The number of airports has doubled in the
05:13 last nine years. We have implemented the production-linked
05:18 incentives with an objective to promote investment and production, with logistics
05:24 costs reducing, and manufacturing sector of India is becoming competitive.
05:30 India is amongst world leaders in the area of renewable energy.
05:36 We are taking active steps to make India a global manufacturing hub in areas such as
05:43 solar energy, wind energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen, green ammonia.
05:50 It is paramount that with this, India will become a huge market for renewable
05:57 technology. Today, India has the world's third-largest
06:04 startup ecosystem. There are more than 100 unicorns in India
06:10 currently. In areas such as IT, telecom, fintech,
06:15 AI, and semiconductors, we are moving forward with a vision of "Make in India,
06:20 make for the world." All of these efforts have directly had a
06:26 positive impact on the lives of common people.
06:30 In the last nine years, the income of people has increased approximately three
06:37 times. Women's participation in the economic
06:41 development of India has been significant. From IT to space, from banking to healthcare,
06:47 women have worked shoulder to shoulder with men and are contributing to the
06:52 country's progress. The people of India have resolved to become
06:57 a developed nation by 2047. Friends, I invite all of you to be a part
07:06 of India's development journey. The COVID pandemic has taught us the
07:11 importance of resilient and inclusive supply chains.
07:15 For this, mutual trust and transparency are extremely important.
07:22 By bringing our strengths together, we can make significant contributions to the
07:29 welfare of the world, especially the global south.
07:33 Excellencies, once again, I congratulate the leaders of Bricks Business World for
07:39 their contribution. I also thank my friend, President Ramaphosa,
07:49 for his excellent arrangements for this meeting.
07:52 Thank you very much.