India fastest growing economy: Rajnath Singh at FICCI meet

NEW DELHI: India has showed that there is no irreconcilable trade-off between growth and distributive justice, and the government is making all efforts to further boost the country’s position as a growth engine, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.

In an address at the annual general meeting of FICCI, Singh said India, as the fastest growing major economy in the world, has now reached a position to trigger a “positive impact” on the growth of other countries.

“India showed that there is no irreconcilable trade-off between growth and distributive justice. That means providing fair opportunities to all citizens and accelerating the growth rate and both can be achieved simultaneously,” he said. “The government is making all efforts to further strengthen India’s position as a growth engine. But you know that the government cannot do this work alone. For that we also need the support of the wealth creators and thought leaders of this country,” he told the industry captains.

Singh said there the industry leaders have a “special responsibility” to help the government write the next chapter of the “Indian growth story”.

“If India is the growth engine of the global economy then all of you wealth creators and thought leaders are the motor of that growth engine,” he said.

He also referred to the government’s focus on infrastructure development, especially to expand connectivity.

“The way we have done infrastructure development in far-flung areas in India, the way we have laid a network of connectivity under the PM Gati Shakti Yojana -- be it the remote North-East or small cities or towns, we have connected everyone,” he said.

“Moving on from the growth pole, I would like to call this the growth web,” he noted.

The defence minister said the government is investing at the bottom of the pyramid.

“Be it the farmers of the country, tribals or street vendors, or ‘Vishwakarma brothers’ — by implementing schemes for these people, we have ensured that we also pay attention to the bottom of the pyramid,” he noted.

The defence minister also highlighted induction of women in various positions in the three services.