My agenda of reform-to-transform India not yet finished, says Modi

IMF MD compliments PM for various initiatives

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his agenda of reform-to-transform India was still not finished as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) complimented India as a “rare bright spot” in the current global economic turmoil.

 “India’s stars are shining bright with promise of more reforms,” visiting IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a conference on Advancing Asia, jointly hosted by India and IMF.

She complimented Modi for reforms such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India and the likes. “We do not intend to rest on these achievements because my agenda of ‘reform-to-transform’ still needs to be finished. Our recent Budget provides a roadmap for our future plans and ambitions. Our underlying philosophy is clear: To create the climate for wealth generation and for that wealth to be spread to all Indians, especially the poor, vulnerable, farmers, and disadvantaged communities,” Modi said in his address.

He said India had increased investment in the rural and agriculture sector where a majority of India lives. “But our help to the farmers is not based on giving hand-outs. We aim to double farmer incomes by: increasing irrigation, boosting productivity and creating assets.”

Modi said, amid global problems, India was a haven of macro-economic stability. He said India’s rapid economic growth was distinct in Asia as the country never tried to gain in trade at the expense of its partners.

“We do not follow ‘beggar thy neighbour’ macro-economic policies. We have never undervalued our exchange rate. We add to world and Asian demand by running current account deficits. We are therefore good Asian and good global economic citizens, and a source of demand to our trading partners,” he said taking a jibe at China’s recent devaluations.

Modi’s remark emboldens RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan’s recent comments. Rajan in an article in Project Syndicate had said, “We need to avoid beggar-thy-neighbour policies, such as unconventional monetary policy or sustained exchange-rate intervention, that primarily induce capital outflows and competitive currency devaluations”.