India will be number one by 2047 in all sectors: Union home minister Amit Shah

A new wave of energy has gripped India after the success of hosting the G20 Presidency, the Chandrayaan 3 moon landing, and the women’s reservation bill, said Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday.

Shah, who is also the Union cooperation minister, was speaking at the 118th Annual Session of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI). The theme for this year’s session is ‘Rising India: “Yahi Samay Hai, Sahi Samay Hai Amrit Kaal of Unprecedented Growth’.

“Prime Minister Narender Modi has said that when India celebrates 100 years of Independence in 2047, we have to be number one in all sectors. The next 25 years will be the best. This is the start of Amrit Kaal,” Shah said.PM Modi had in September said that India’s economic growth is a “natural by-product” of his nine-year-old government’s political stability, as he expressed optimism that it will be a developed nation by 2047.“Our country has the highest number of young people. Most doctors, engineers and technocrats are in India. There is democracy and teamwork here. In every sphere, it is time for India to be number one. This is why the role of PHDCCC is important,” Shah said.

Shah further spoke about the work done by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre in the last nine years and presented comparative data.India has climbed from 11th rank in 2014 to 5th rank in the list of largest economies, the Union minister said.He said that in 2014, there were only four unicorn startups, which has increased to 115 today, while there were only 127 crore digital transactions, which has gone up to 12,735 crore since 2014.“India is now a lucrative and most sought-after destination to do business. People want to invest in India. The capital expenditure in 2014 was Rs.3.9 lakh crore, which has increased to Rs.10 lakh crore. Until 2014, there were 70 airports and now we have 138 airports across. Until 2014, we had 91,000 km of highways. In nine years, we added around 50,000 km. Roads, highways, railways and airports are an important component of trade,” Shah said.

The home minister reiterated how India’s trade and policy had gained pace after the launch of initiatives such as Skill India, Make In India, Digital India, and Udaan Yojana, among others.“PM Modi has laid a strong foundation. I urge you to take a pledge to increase the size and scale of the industry sector in India. This is the time, the time is right,” he said.