Pitches ‘power to empower’; cites 7.8% growth
New Delhi, Oct 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pitched “Power to Empower” as India’s guiding principle in global affairs, calling for a world order driven by collaboration, shared opportunities and collective progress rather than competition and dominance.
Addressing the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, Modi said India believed in growing “with the world, and for the world”, positioning the country as a reliable partner amid geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions and growing uncertainty in the global economy.
“The vision I have come with is power to empower. Beyond the power to control, power to enable; beyond the power to compete, power to collaborate; beyond the power to succeed, power to help others succeed,” he said.
The Prime Minister warned that global interdependence was increasingly being weaponised, with supply chains, energy, critical minerals, technology and payment systems being used as instruments of pressure and dominance.
“The world searches for a way out of one crisis; by then, a new crisis emerges,” he said, referring to the succession of pandemics, regional conflicts and disruptions affecting global trade and essential supplies.
He said the interconnectedness created by decades of globalisation was increasingly turning into geopolitical chokepoints, making dependable partnerships and uninterrupted supply chains critical in an uncertain world.
Against this backdrop, Modi said India was pursuing a different approach based on cooperation and inclusive development.
“We do not grow at anyone’s cost. We grow with the world, and for the world,” he said, adding that India’s progress was rooted in collaboration and taking others along.
Highlighting India’s role in global development, Modi cited its contribution to the supply of generic medicines, digital identity systems and the establishment of more than 2,000 Global Capability Centres serving international markets.
He also referred to initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, the Global Biofuel Alliance and Mission LiFE, saying India was creating platforms intended to benefit countries and communities beyond its borders.
The Prime Minister said the purpose of power was as important as the ability to acquire it, arguing that technology, data, knowledge and innovation should expand opportunities for millions rather than concentrate advantages among a select few.
Citing India’s digital transformation, he said access to mobile phones and the internet had once been considered a privilege, but the reduction in data prices since 2014 had widened access to knowledge, markets and services.
He pointed to India’s digital payments ecosystem as an example of inclusive technology, where street vendors and large businesses could use the same platform.
Modi said India was also sharing its digital capabilities with countries in the Global South to help them develop their own digital public infrastructure. He cited the CoWIN platform, used during the COVID-19 vaccination drive, as an example of Indian technology creating opportunities for other countries.
On innovation, he said the number of startups in India had risen from a few hundred in 2014 to more than 2.5 lakh, with nearly half based in smaller cities and over 45 per cent having women directors, according to the figures cited in his address.
He said governance should focus on making citizens self-reliant rather than creating dependency on the state. Crediting this approach with expanding opportunities, he said 25 crore people had been lifted out of poverty over the past decade.
The Prime Minister also highlighted the role of the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity and Direct Benefit Transfer in delivering government assistance directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts. These mechanisms, he said, had reduced corruption, improved convenience and strengthened the direct relationship between citizens and the government.
Recalling India’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi said the country had supplied vaccines to more than 100 nations despite global shortages, demonstrating that manufacturing capabilities could also serve humanitarian objectives.
On climate action, Modi said India had achieved 40 per cent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources in November 2021, nine years ahead of its 2030 target under the Paris Agreement. He described India as the first G20 country to achieve the target.
He said the country’s renewable energy capacity had increased from around 75 GW in 2014 to approximately 300 GW, marking a fourfold rise.
The Prime Minister cited the PM Surya Ghar and PM-KUSUM schemes as examples of efforts to enable households and farmers to generate solar power, reduce costs and contribute to the energy transition. According to his address, these initiatives had added more than 30 GW of capacity and helped reduce carbon emissions by over 30 million tonnes annually.
Addressing the global economic outlook, Modi said India offered reliability and stability amid uncertainty. He cited economic growth of 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter, a current account deficit of 0.61 per cent and foreign exchange reserves exceeding $700 billion.
He also said India’s banking system was in its strongest position in decades.
Attributing recent sovereign rating upgrades to structural reforms and improved economic fundamentals, Modi referred to the Goods and Services Tax, insolvency legislation, the consolidation of 29 labour laws into four labour codes and the decriminalisation of hundreds of minor business offences.
“For us, reforms are not a compulsion. They are a conviction,” he said, presenting reforms as a continuing commitment rather than a response to external pressure.
The Prime Minister said India’s growing capabilities should translate into wider benefits for humanity, including through cooperation on climate change, water governance and the responsible use of emerging technologies.
Concluding his address, Modi invoked an ancient Vedic mantra calling for people to walk, speak and understand one another together. He said collective action and shared opportunities were essential to addressing the challenges facing the world.
