Rs 100 lakh crore for infrastructure as Modi government targets $5 trillion-economy club

In his sixth Independence Day speech, PM Modi touched upon a range of subjects, beginning from the scrapping of Article 370 and triple talaq practices to advocating for population control and encouraging travel.

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister announced a whopping Rs 100 lakh crore for developing infrastructure across the country while addressing the nation on 73rd Independence Day. This aid will nearly double the size of the Indian economy to $5 trillion in the next five years.

“Today, modern infrastructure is being built as per the requirement of the 21st century in the country. It has been decided to invest Rs 100 lakh crore on the country's infrastructure,” said the Prime Minister from Red Fort on Thursday, August 15.

आज देश में 21वीं सदी की आवश्यकता के मुताबिक आधुनिक इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर का निर्माण हो रहा है। देश के इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर पर 100 लाख करोड़ रुपए का निवेश करने का फैसला किया गया है: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) August 15, 2019

"We cannot take incremental progress anymore. We must take long leaps now, our thought process has to be expanded. Keep in mind best global practices and build good systems. Therefore, we have decided to invest Rs 100 lakh crore for infrastructure," said PM Modi.

"How can we help our nation move forward? Working towards five trillion dollar economy dream is the answer. We can achieve this target once every citizen starts contributing to it.

“To some the target of nearly doubling the size of Indian economy to $5 trillion in five years may seemed difficult. In the last 70 years, we became a two trillion dollar economy. But in last five years, we added one trillion dollar to the economy. This gives me the confidence of becoming a five trillion dollar economy in the coming days,” said the Prime Minister.

PM Modi highlighted that the Government in India is stable and its policy system is predictable. “World is eager to trade with India. We are working to keep prices under check and speed up development. The fundamentals of our economy are strong,” he said.

The $5-trillion economy roadmap for India was presented in Union Budget 2019.

Delivering his sixth Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, PM Modi touched upon a range of subjects, beginning from the scrapping of Article 370 and triple talaq practices to advocating for population control and encouraging travel. He also announced the formation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) - the topmost defence officer of the country - to whom all the three service chiefs will report. Read key points from his speech here