India’s economy grew 66% in last decade: PM Modi at post-Budget webinar
PM Modi announced India's economy grew 66% in a decade, aiming for a $5 trillion economy, while focusing on education, skills, and healthcare advancements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that India’s economy grew 66% over the last decade, citing a February report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speaking at a post-budget webinar on employment generation, Modi highlighted what he called “remarkable observations” from the IMF regarding India’s economic performance.
“According to this report, between 2015 and 2025, in these 10 years, India’s economy has recorded a 66 percent growth. India has now become a 3.8 trillion dollar economy,” Modi said. “The day is not far when India will become a 5 trillion dollar economy.”
The PM emphasised the importance of implementing budget announcements, noting his government has moved away from traditional approaches to budget management.
“Now, we engage with stakeholders before, during, and after the budget to ensure smooth implementation,” he said. “Such a participatory model is rare, but I am happy that this annual brainstorming exercise is gaining momentum every year.”
Modi added that “discussions after the budget are often more valuable for its implementation than those before the budget.”
During the webinar, Modi outlined that “investing in people, economy and innovation” defines his government’s “Viksit Bharat (developed India)” roadmap, giving it “as much priority” as infrastructure and industries.
The PM described his government’s “vision of investment in people” as resting on three pillars: education, skill development and healthcare.
“We are seeing that the education system of India is going through transformation after decades,” Modi said, listing several initiatives including “the National Education Policy, expansion of IITs, integration of technology in the education system, using AI with full potential, digitisation of textbooks, learning materials availability in 22 languages.”
He noted these efforts are being implemented “on a mission mode”.
On skills development, Modi said his government has provided training to over three crore (30 million) young people since 2014. He added that they are working with global experts to equip youth with “skills that enable them to compete at a world-class level.”
“The role of both industry and academia is crucial. Industries and educational institutions must understand each other’s needs and work together to fulfil them,” he said, while mentioning the PM-Internship Scheme.
Regarding healthcare, Modi highlighted budget provisions for an additional 10,000 medical seats, with a target of adding 75,000 medical seats over the next five years. He noted expansions in Primary Health Centres and telemedicine facilities, and suggested that health sector stakeholders “should invest in promoting health tourism.”
The PM addressed urban planning challenges, stating that India’s urban population is estimated to reach 90 crore (900 million) by 2047. His government has created an Urban Challenge Fund of one lakh crore (1 trillion) rupees, focusing on “governance, infrastructure, and financial sustainability, while also boosting private investment,” according to Modi.
“Our cities will be known for sustainable urban mobility, digital integration, and climate resilience plans. Our private sector, especially real estate and industry, should focus on and promote planned urbanisation,” he added.
Modi also emphasised artificial intelligence’s potential to contribute “trillions of rupees” to India’s economy, urging the private sector to stay “one step ahead” of the world in this field. He noted his recent attendance at the “Artificial Intelligence (AI) action summit” in France.
“In this budget, ₹500 crore has been allocated for AI-driven education and research. India will also establish a National Large Language Model to develop its AI capabilities,” Modi said. “The world is looking for a reliable, safe, and democratic nation that can provide economic solutions through AI.”
The Prime Minister mentioned a one lakh crore (1 trillion) rupee corpus fund allocated to boost research and innovation for start-ups. He also highlighted the Gyan Bharat Mission, which aims to digitise over one crore (10 million) of India’s manuscripts.
Additionally, Modi announced the establishment of a “National Gene Bank” to “preserve India’s plant genetic resources” to ensure “genetic resources and food security for future generations.”
