‘We didn’t think big’ – Modi on India before he took the reins

The premiere, who is seeking a rare third term, said that a focus on infrastructure and technology will propel the country forward

India had made poverty “a virtue” and had refused to “think big” in the past, an outlook that significantly hindered the country’s development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted in a recent interview with the news channel NDTV.  

Modi, who leads the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took over as the country’s prime minister from Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC), which is now in opposition, in 2014. Modi retained the position after BJP won the next election in 2019 and is now eyeing a new term as nearly a billion Indians vote for the government in seven phases until June 1.  

“There have been incidents which compelled us to live in a distracted manner in the last 1,000 years. What’s happening now will take India towards a brighter future for the coming 1,000 years,” Modi said. “In my mind, it is clear that this is our time, this is India’s time and we must not lose the opportunity.”

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Speaking on the country’s progress under the previous government, Modi suggested: “We didn’t think big, we didn’t think ahead – maybe due to the burden of slavery or maybe because people were not in that mood.”  

The Indian leader suggested his government had taken a different approach to tackle the country’s problems, including placing a greater emphasis on improving physical infrastructure, building robust digital infrastructure and changing the way bureaucracy works. 

Over the last decade, India has built over 25,000km of new railway tracks and over 55,000km of highways, according to Modi’s office. The number of operational airports has also more than doubled during the same period.

Indian billionaire Niranjan Hiranandani, speaking on RT’s TV show ‘Let’s Talk Bharat’ hosted by noted actor Anupam Kher, recently lauded the focus of Modi’s government on improving India’s infrastructure to achieve double-digit growth and lifting millions of poor people into the middle class.  

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The South Asian country’s infrastructure sector is poised for strong growth, with investments worth $1.4 trillion planned by 2025 under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). Overall, the economy is also poised to leapfrog Germany and Japan to become the third-largest in the world by the end of this decade. The country is also expected to become the third-largest consumer market by 2026, according to Ernst & Young. 

Modi highlighted that his government is dedicated to integrating technology across all sectors, including governance, while also accelerating project implementation and decision-making processes within the bureaucracy. 

He suggested that technology had been transformative for the country, particularly in financial inclusion and governance. “We are witnessing a digital revolution in the country. It’s the biggest tool to empower the poor and bridge the inequality gap,” he said, emphasizing that India will lead the world in the field of artificial intelligence.

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