India will be in world’s top 3 economies in my 3rd term: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted that India will feature in the three largest economies in the world in his third term, saying the country’s development journey is not going to stop.

“On the basis of track record, in the third term of our government, India will become the world’s third-largest economy. Yeh Modi ki guarantee hai (This is Modi’s guarantee),” the prime minister said while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex, rechristened as Bharat Mandapam.

Citing data from the Niti Aayog report, the prime minister said that 13.5 crore people have come out of poverty in the last five years.

“International agencies are also saying that extreme poverty in India is on the verge of ending. This shows that the decisions and policies that have been made in the last nine years are taking the country in the right direction,” PM Modi said.

Taking a jibe at detractors, Prime Minister Modi said some people have a tendency to criticise and create obstacles in good projects.

“When ‘Kartavya Path’ was being built, many things were running on the front page of newspapers as breaking news. It was raised in courts as well, but when it was constructed, the same people said that it is good. I am sure the ‘Toli’ will also accept ‘Bharat Mandapam’ and it is also possible that they might come here to deliver a lecture in a seminar,” PM Modi said.

The prime minister stressed that we have to think big and achieve big targets in order to be developed. That is why, he said, “India is moving ahead with the principle of ‘Think Big, Dream Big, Act Big’”

Modi unveiled the name of the new complex through a drone in the presence of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and other ministers. The IECC complex is India’s largest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) destination. In terms of the covered space available for events, the complex finds its place among the top exhibition and convention complexes in the world.

The IECC will host the G20 summit in September under India’s presidency. The summit will be attended by heads of states of 20 nations including the US, the UK and China among others.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by around 3,000 guests including Cabinet ministers, captains of industry, film personalities and others.