Lauding India for becoming the fourth largest economy in the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi remembered how excited the country was when it achieved the fifth spot, particularly because India had left its coloniser United Kingdom behind.
Addressing a gathering in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, PM Modi said that when he took oath as Prime Minister for the first time in 2014, India was the 11th largest economy in the world, and in just a little over a decade, it has come up to the fourth spot.
“On 26th May 2014, I took the oath as the Prime Minister for the first time. At that time, India’s economy was in the 11th position…Today, India has become the world’s fourth-largest economy. It is a matter of pride for all of us that we have now surpassed Japan,” Modi said.
Reminiscing about the country’s excitement when it reached the fifth spot, he said, “I still remember the excitement across the country when we moved from sixth to fifth place, especially among the youth. The reason was that India had overtaken the United Kingdom, the very nation that ruled over us for 250 years.”
Modi’s remarks come just days after India’s economic achievement was declared by NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam. He had announced that India’s economy had reached the $4 trillion mark, making it the fourth-largest economy in the world.
Also read: What PM Modi said on India becoming world’s fourth-largest economy: ‘Matter of pride’
‘There’s pressure of becoming third largest economy’
Now that India has achieved this economic feat, there is more pressure about touching the third spot, said Modi.
“The pressure of becoming the third (largest economy) is more than the happiness of becoming the fourth (largest economy). The country is not ready to wait,” Modi said.
“If someone asks them to wait, a slogan emerges that says ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’…Our goal is clear: by 2047, India must be a Viksit nation. No compromise. We will not mark 100 years of independence casually. We will celebrate it in such a way that the flag of a Viksit Bharat will be flying high across the world,” he added.
With ANI inputs
