"Economy Does Not Run On Figures; It Needs To Grow" Says Home Minister Amit Shah At IGF 2024

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] : Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing the India Global Forum Investment Summit 2024 in Mumbai, emphasized the imperative of holistic development, underlining the significance of concurrent reforms across various sectors.

Shah emphasized the importance of driving economic progress through increased capital expenditure, stating, "The economy does not run on figures, it needs to grow, it needs to develop the country, for this, everything needs to be changed simultaneously. And that's why we have also increased capital expenditure."

Minister Shah, asserted that while the Congress, during its 55-year tenure, struggled to make significant decisions, the BJP-led government has implemented over 50 transformative initiatives within a decade.

Shah said, "A government can make 5 major decisions in 50 years, I can say based on the record of the Congress. Congress worked for 55 years, they cannot count 5 major decisions. In our 10-year government, we have made more than 50 transformative decisions that the whole world can acknowledge have changed both the condition and direction of India."

Shah's remarks underscored the contrast between the performance of the Congress and the BJP's proactive governance approach, emphasizing the profound impact of these decisions on India's trajectory and global standing.

He criticized the Congress's tenure of 55 years, asserting that they failed to implement significant decisions. In contrast, Shah highlighted the BJP government's tenure, citing over 50 transformative decisions made in the past decade, which have reshaped India's trajectory and global standing.

Addressing concerns regarding legal delays, Shah emphasized Modi's commitment to expedite justice, stating, "This is 'Modi's Guarantee' that justice will be ensured in any criminal case within 3 years, up to the Supreme Court, ending the cycle of prolonged legal battles. 'Tareekh pe Tareekh' (date after date) will now become a thing of the past."

He highlighted PM Modi's efforts in financial inclusion, noting the upliftment of 600 million people who were previously excluded from the country's economy, achieved within a decade.

Shah said, "When Narendra Modi became the PM, there were 600 million people in the country whose families did not have a single bank account, in a way, these 600 million people were not connected to the country's economy. Modi ji has resolved all the basic facilities in the lives of these 600 million people within 10 years, which many governments could not do for 75 years."

Shah reiterated PM Modi's vision for economic growth, affirming, "Modi has set a goal to reduce logistics costs by 10 percent by 2030, enhancing our global competitiveness."

Providing insights into India's economic achievements, Shah highlighted significant milestones such as the increase in foreign direct investment from USD 305 billion to USD 600 billion and the exponential growth of startups from 350 to 1,17,000.

"Foreign direct investment has increased from USD 305 billion to USD 600 billion. We have worked to increase the number of startups from 350 to 117,000," said Shah.

He cited the remarkable surge in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index from 22,000 to 73,000, indicative of the economy's robustness.

Shah affirmed, "BSE has crossed 73,000 from 22,000, which is a big indicator of the economy. In a country of 1.3 billion, there were only 4.7 crore direct taxpayers in 2012-2013, we have doubled it to 8.18 crore in just one decade."

Shah also noted the significant rise in direct and indirect taxpayers, the doubling of newer cities, and India's improved ranking in the Global Innovation Index from 81st to 40th place.

"We have increased the number of indirect taxpayers from 60 lakh to 1.4 crore. We have also doubled the number of newer cities, and we were ranked 81st in the Global Innovation Index, and now we have reached 40th place," said Shah.