Addressing a gathering at the ET Global Leaders Forum on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India has political stability and policy continuity. The world has many concerns about development. Resources are being used as weapons. But India is being seen as a bright center of growth.
PM Modi said, “India is continuously taking steps that will accelerate its development. I spoke on seven sectors on August 15. India is making reforms at the policy level to secure our future. It is reforming governance. Reforms are not a duty for us; they are our commitment; they are our assurance.”
India’s strong focusHe said, “Just last week, on August 15, from the Red Fort, I spoke about the seven powers of the seven streams. I spoke about the seven sectors, including manufacturing power, agriculture and food processing, technology and innovation, green economy and blue economy, on which India has a strong focus. That is why India today is undertaking next-generation reforms at the policy level to secure our future. We are improving governance and ease of life.”
Reforms are not a compulsion for us, we believe: Narendra Modi
The PM said, “Reforms are not a compulsion for us; they are our commitment, that is our conviction. How reforms have changed our position and direction since we formed the government in 2014. Hardly anyone knows about PLP, and you will be surprised to hear it. PLP stands for Production Linked Punishment, PLI stands for Production Linked Incentive; these two words define different periods of India.”
He said, “Let me explain. There was a time in our country when if a company produced more than the prescribed limit, it was punished. This was their production-linked punishment model. They were sent notices, so the company destroyed its own production. This was the thinking of the ancestors of those who mock Make in India today. The reason behind this was a perverse mentality: to ensure scarcity of essential commodities. They wanted the public to beg and plead before them. By doing this, they strangled jobs. Their courtiers never raised any voice against this. Earlier, people were getting punished for increasing production, but today our government is giving incentives.”
Electronic interlocking system is operational at railway stations: Narendra Modi
The PM said, “Recently, in the monsoon session of Parliament, we passed the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026. Even when the opposition was constantly obstructing the process, we did not let the work of the country stop. Today, 6,500 railway stations have electronic interlocking systems, which has prevented deaths due to human error. Thousands of lives have been lost due to unmanned crossings. We are working on mission mode. and eliminated unmanned crossings. This has reduced train accidents by 90 percent.”
He said, ’12 years ago, where there were about 150 railway accidents in a year, now it has reduced to 12-15. Earlier, those who talked about reforms in the country used to advertise but later forgot about it. We have created a clear roadmap for reforms. The main thrust of this roadmap is governance reforms. So, today in 21st century India, we are not just changing the rules, we are changing the entire philosophy of regulation. Earlier the regulatory approach was “restricted until permitted”. We are changing this approach and moving towards “permission until permission”.