Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India, guided by the mantra of “Reform, Perform, and Transform,” is today in a position to help lift the world out of the grip of slow growth.
Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum 2025, the Prime Minister highlighted India’s rapid economic progress, policy reforms, and technological advancements, stressing that the country is no longer a passive observer but an active force shaping global change.
PM Modi underlined that India is currently the fastest-growing major economy and is set to soon become the third-largest in the world. Experts, he said, project India’s contribution to global growth to touch nearly 20 percent in the near future.
Despite the challenges of COVID-19, he noted that India’s fiscal deficit is projected to fall to 4.4 percent, inflation remains at its lowest since 2017, and foreign exchange reserves are at an all-time high. He added that Indian companies are raising record funds from capital markets, banks are stronger than ever, and retail investors are contributing thousands of crores every month through SIPs.
The Prime Minister pointed to India’s solar capacity jump from 2.5 GW in 2014 to 100 GW today, the addition of 22 lakh formal jobs in June 2025 alone—the highest ever in a single month—and Delhi Airport’s entry into the “Hundred-Million-Plus Club” of global airports. He also welcomed the recent S&P credit rating upgrade, the first in nearly two decades, calling it proof of global confidence in India.
PM Modi criticized the indecision of past governments that caused India to “miss several buses” in technology and industry—from internet expansion to telecom advancement. He stressed that post-2014, India changed course, building a domestic 5G stack and deploying it at the fastest pace worldwide, while work on Made-in-India 6G is progressing rapidly. He announced that India’s first indigenous semiconductor chip will hit the market by the end of this year.
On National Space Day, the Prime Minister outlined India’s achievements in space, noting that while only 42 missions were conducted between 1979 and 2014, over 60 have been completed in the last 11 years. He announced that India has achieved space docking capability this year, a key step for future missions, and reaffirmed plans for Gaganyaan. He also said India is preparing for its own space station and supporting over 300 space start-ups through liberalized policies and a ₹1,000 crore venture capital fund.
On research and innovation, PM Modi said R&D expenditure has more than doubled since 2014, patent filings have risen 17 times, and initiatives such as the ₹50,000 crore National Research Foundation and a ₹1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation Scheme will boost private-sector innovation in sunrise sectors.
The Prime Minister highlighted ongoing reforms across taxation, mining, ports, shipping, sports, and governance, including the Jan Vishwas 2.0 initiative, simplification of income tax laws, and upcoming changes to the GST framework by Diwali to lower prices and simplify compliance.
“India is not aiming for incremental change but for quantum jumps,” PM Modi stressed, reaffirming that reforms are driven not by crisis or compulsion but by conviction. He emphasized that Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) is being built on speed, scale, and scope, with record exports, agricultural success, and leadership in vaccine production.
Concluding his address, the Prime Minister said: “India, through its resilience and strength, continues to be a source of global confidence. We are not the people who throw pebbles into stagnant waters—we are the people who can redirect fast-flowing currents.”