PM says India’s 7.8% GDP growth reflects economic strength, slams critics | India News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said there were people for whom the glass would “always be half empty”, as he slammed those who questioned the 7.8 per cent quarterly GDP growth announced by the Centre last month, while recalling the economic conditions before he came to power.

 

Speaking at the centenary celebrations of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in Delhi, PM Modi said those who had pushed India into the “Fragile Five” were now unable to digest the country’s growth. He said India had moved from “policy paralysis” in 2013 to “policy dynamism”.

 

“Some people see the glass as half full. Some say it is half empty,” he said, adding, “I said there are people who can see the glass as fully filled, half with water and half with air.”

  

“Today, those spreading terrorism are trounced. If Pakistan indulges in any nefarious act, the Indian army enters their home and strikes; the back of Naxalism has been broken…from policy paralysis to policy dynamism, India has come a long way,” he said.

 

“They once called us the ‘Fragile Five’. Today, they are talking about India as the fastest-growing major economy,” PM Modi added.

‘Fragile Five’ to fastest-growing major economy

PM Modi recalled his 2013 address at SRCC, when he was Gujarat chief minister, and said the speech had generated a “wave” whose impact remained more than a decade later.

 

“In 2013, when I came to SRCC, I presented a vision. Whatever I said back then was my conviction. I have always lived by those words,” PM Modi said.

 

He said India’s 7.8 per cent GDP growth amid global uncertainty was evidence of the country’s economic strength. Modi also said some people had questioned his optimism and expressed doubts about initiatives such as Make in India.

 

PM Modi said the country was facing a difficult situation in 2013, with low development, high inflation, scandals and security concerns.

 

“So I said, ‘I see the glass as fully filled’. At that time, development was at its lowest; inflation had hit the skies. At that time, scandals were at their peak, and the corrupt roamed fearlessly. Terrorists were unrestrained and Pakistan was out of control,” he said.

 

He also asked young people to look at the headlines from that period.

 

“I would urge the youth to look at what the situation was back then, in 2013, and look at the headlines of that time. Newspaper headlines were filled with– Indian soldiers killed along the LoC, World Bank lowers India’s growth forecast, current account deficit at an all-time high, inflation rate at 10 per cent,” PM Modi said.

 

“I am sure the youth is not aware of what the situation was like then,” he added.

SRCC centenary celebrations

PM Modi also spoke about SRCC’s role in educating generations of students and referred to its alumni as “OGs”, using a term popular among younger audiences.

 

“When a human being lives for 100 years, they are considered a person of deep knowledge and great experience. When an institution completes 100 years, it becomes an ocean of achievements. SRCC has shaped generations and connected them to a brighter future,” he said.

 

“In its 100-year journey, Shri Ram College of Commerce has shaped generations, connecting them to a bright future. Those who came, they studied; those who left, they left sculpted. SRCC alumni have been very special. In your language, they are OGs,” Modi said.

 

The prime minister also released a commemorative ₹100 coin to mark the college’s centenary.

 

PM Modi had met the governing body and a delegation from SRCC at his residence in April to mark the institution’s 100th anniversary. He also released a commemorative postage stamp on the occasion.