New Delhi, September 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his keynote address at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) 3rd Annual Leadership Summit, called for a fresh mindset to tackle the challenges in post-COVID-19 world. The focus of development must be human-centric, said Modi in his first speech after the shock GDP stats were released earlier this week. India's GDP Shrinks by 23.9% in Q1 of FY 2020-21, Worst in Past 40 Years.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India, the April-June quarter of 2020, shrunk by 23.9 percent -- the worst among all G20 nations. Modi, who was yet to react to the sharp GDP drop, told the US-India Forum that the world is facing a first-in-a-kind of economic crisis which requires concerted effort to overcome the challenges.
"When 2020 began, did anyone imagine how it would pan out? A global pandemic has impacted everyone. It's testing our resilience, public health system and economic system. The current situation demands fresh mindset where the approach to development is human-centric," he said.
Watch Full Video of PM Modi's Keynote Address at US-India Summit
Modi claimed that India has initiated the journey to recover from COVID-19, claiming that the country is one of the best destinations for business investment. The tax rates are among the lowest and the policy of "ease of doing business" has provided a conducive environment.
"1.3 billion Indians have embarked on one mission to make an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India). 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' merges the local with the global. It ensures India's strengths act as a global force multiplier," the Prime Minister said.
India Provides Reliability, Affordability, Policy Stability: Modi
Pandemic has shown world that decision on developing global supply chains should be based not only on costs. They should also be based on trust. Along with affordability of geography, companies are now looking for reliability&policy stability. India has all of these qualities: PM https://t.co/mxlJIn1q3M
— ANI (@ANI) September 3, 2020
"For challenges in India, you have a govt that believes in delivering results, for which ease of living is as important as ease of doing business. You are looking at a young country with 65% population less than 35 years old," he added.
Modi also lauded India's fight against the coronavirus pandemic, pointing out that the country has one of the lowest mortality rate per billion population. On the other hand, the recovery rate is among the highest.
"India, a country with 1.3 billion people and limited resources, has one of the lowest death rates per million in the world. The recovery rate is also steadily rising," he said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2020 09:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).