The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today said his priority was for India to establish global benchmarks in areas such as governance, transparency and taxation. Interacting over dinner with participants of the BlackRock India Investor Summit, he said the priority of his Government is "growth and jobs." The Prime Minister said there is rising interest in India, and "we have to accept that responsibility."
The Prime Minister said infrastructure development is one of the best routes to create jobs for the youth. He said India requires both expansion and upgradation of its infrastructure. He said the Railways could become a growth engine for the economy. The Prime Minister said the goal of Affordable Housing for all by 2022, would in itself, provide a huge boost for the economy. He said the Government was focusing on skill development that would fulfil not just the Indian requirement, but also the global requirement. In terms of the education system, he said the best in the world should be there in India as well. He said he wanted India to have a skill development programme that focuses on both job-creators and job-seekers.
The Prime Minister said he believes in a fair, predictable and consistent tax system, and in economic policies that will drive growth.
Twenty one major global investors participated in the India Investor Summit earlier in the day. The list of institutional investors includes asset managers, insurers, pension funds, and official institutions.
The Prime Minister congratulated Mr. Laurence Fink, Chairman and CEO BlackRock, and the Finance Ministry for organizing the India Investor Summit. Union Ministers Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Shri Piyush Goyal and Shri Jayant Sinha were present at the dinner.
