Our purchasing power parity has become the world’s third largest and our GDP has expanded 55 times: Gautam Adani
Ahmedabad: Adani group chairman Gautam Adani said, Thank you for inviting me to speak at this year’s edition of the India Economic Conclave.
It is impressive how quickly this platform has become one of the primary forums for the conversation about India.
This year’s theme around the ‘Democratic Dividend’ is a validation that we are now finally able to look past the pandemic.
‘Democratic Dividend’ has no unified definition, Also, classifications of political systems can be controversial.
For all the talk about democracy, we must remind ourselves that over the 6,000 years of human civilization, democracy is a relatively new form of governance.
And just one country, the United States of America – is a democracy older than 200 years.
One person’s experience in one democracy is not representative of another’s in a different democracy.
Yes, we are the world’s largest democracy – but, at 75 years old, we are still young.
Over this period – we have had a constitution that has stood firm since its adoption in 1950.
Over this period – India has balanced a parliamentary democracy of over a billion people with a simultaneous transition to a multi trillion-dollar economy.
- Over this period – our purchasing power parity has become the world’s third largest and our GDP has expanded 55 times.
Some have called our democracy – noisy.
And I say that “it is always better to have a young but noisy democracy – over a – mature but silent democracy.”
It is the noise that allows us the freedom to express our ideas and thoughts. It is the noise that allows us to stay committed to democratic values.
While one can argue about an optimal growth metric for a nation – what cannot be argued – is that equality – dignity – and freedom are the better metrics by which we should measure nations.
We all recognize that we have many challenges – no different from many other nations – but I fundamentally believe that things are falling in place for India to create one of the greatest economies the world has known.
Uplifting the lives of 1.4 billion people may feel like a marathon in the short run but is a sprint in the long run.
I will expand on this later.
Nations cannot be built on fragile assumptions of everlasting relationships. The misfired war in Europe has exposed the tentative nature of geopolitical partnerships.
If there is a learning from – both – the Russia-Ukraine conflict AND the Covid crisis, it is the need to urgently take control of our own national destiny.
Therefore, it is a matter of pride to see our Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi stand up to the “with us OR against us” rhetoric
In this context, we witnessed a remarkable example of national pride when India’s vaccination drive was opened to senior citizens.
Our Prime Minister was first in line to receive the Bharat Biotech vaccine developed in India by Padma Bhushan Dr Krishna Ella.
This is the ultimate testimony of confidence from a leader in his own citizens’ abilities. This is self-reliance at its best.
Dear friends
Over the past two years of crisis, we have learned that the world is not as flat as assumed.
Across the world, domestically focused policies have been making a comeback and economic borders are becoming less porous.
Indeed, the pandemic should serve as a wake-up call for India that global co- operation buckles under the weight of national priorities.
And over-alignment and over-diplomacy are as much a risk as under-alignment and under-diplomacy.
But our foreign policy can serve only for what is happening here at home and uplifting the lives and prospects of our masses requires broad and solid foundations.
Therefore, several of the Union Government programs that have been launched over the past few years have been about establishing the socialistic base for decades of progress.
Our history will look upon the impact of many of these programs as the ones that shaped the India we have always aspired for.
The majority of these programs are about ensuring dignity for all the citizens of our country and dignity comes from taking a stand — a stand that ensures:
A greater India | is an India | that is visibly | a more Atmanirbhar India
A greater India | is an India | that is visibly | a more Muscular India
Dear Friends,
It is an accepted fact that India will remain a domestic-consumption-driven economy for a long while.
- Without arguing about the economic theory that advocates exports, India’s primary resilience is derived from the strength of its internal consumption and the size of its market.
