Team Herald
PANJIM: Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that the country had emerged as a key player on the global economic scene in the last two years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was delivering the keynote address at the Golden Jubilee International Conference on ‘Emergence of India as a Global Power: Challenges and Opportunities’ organised by S S Dempo College of Commerce and Economics.
There was, he said, a significant change in the perception of India as an important global player that drives the process of change rather than solely following the process.
Elaborating on a sustainable growth model for the present economy, Prabhu said, “60% of India’s GDP today comes from the services sector. This sector is not supported by manufacturing or agriculture. This is not a sustainable model for growth. And hence there has been this massive Make in India move by the Prime Minister. Make in India will provide the much needed thrust to manufacturing and in turn to the agriculture sector. Manufacturing needs to become the engine of growth. For this to happen, one needs adequate infrastructure and hence the nation needs to invest in this infrastructure.”
Drawing a parallel between China and India, he said, “Like India, China also was a leading economy but then it contracted. It was when China started looking inwards rather than outwards that it grew. China eventually became the second largest economy in the world. India is on the same path.”
Stressing on the need to invest in education, he continued, “Education goes hand-in-hand with the growth of economy. We cannot hope to produce world-class academicians, scientists, sportspersons, professionals and entrepreneurs unless we invest in them.”
The two day International Conference was aimed at providing a platform to facilitate the process of constructive deliberation that would allow academicians, researchers, scholars and policy makers to exchange, debate and discuss their ideas and views about the opportunities and challenges that India faces on its path to be reckoned as a global superpower.
