PM Modi: Self-reliant India setting new export records

While agricultural product exports reached Rs 4 lakh crore last year, electronics exports, which in 65 years since Independence had reached around Rs 35,000 crore, were now close to Rs 3.25 lakh crore, the PM said. He reiterated his commitment to next-generation reforms, which was part of his Independence Day address, adding that the aim was “not for incremental change, but a quantum leap” in this direction.

“For us, reforms are neither a compulsion nor crisis-driven, but a matter of commitment and conviction… Soon, a whole arsenal of new reforms will be introduced,” he said. This would entail eliminating unnecessary laws, simplifying rules and procedures, digitising approvals and processes, and decriminalising provisions, the PM said.

“A major reform in GST is also underway and will be completed by Diwali, making GST simpler and prices lower,” the PM said.

India’s space sector too, the PM said, is witnessing the success of the reforms undertaken — from one space start-up in 2014 to over 300 now — and the day is not far when the country will have its own space station in orbit.

He asked industry leaders and the private sector to step forward, especially in clean energy, quantum technology, battery storage, advanced materials, and biotechnology as this will “energise the vision of a developed India”.

The PM also called for “urgency and the right mindset” in the field of research, a major driver of progress.