India leading global future discussions, reforms being done out of conviction: PM Modi

India is at the centre of the global future discussions and leading in some as well, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, adding that this was a consequence of a new revolution of reforms in India since 2014.

Highlighting that India entered the top five largest economies in the world in just the last decade, denoting the speed of development of Viksit Bharat, PM Modi said people would soon witness India becoming the third largest economy in the world in a few years.

Addressing the gathering at the ET Now Global Business Summit 2025 in New Delhi, PM Modi said this was the necessary pace for a young country like India and stressed that India was moving ahead with this very speed.

PM Modi, who just returned after a successful visit to the US and France, thanked the people of Odisha, Maharashtra, Haryana and New Delhi for showing immense support for the commitment to Viksit Bharat.

The Prime Minister said that previous dispensations avoided reforms, with a mindset of not wanting to undertake hard work.

He further stated that today, the reforms being undertaken in India were with full conviction.

PM Modi highlighted that there was rarely any discussion about how major reforms could bring significant changes to the country.

The Prime Minister pointed out that living under the burden of colonialism had become a habit in India. Even after independence, remnants of the British era continued to be carried forward.

PM Modi cited an instance where phrases like 'justice delayed is justice denied' were heard for a long time, but no concrete steps were taken to address this issue.

The Prime Minister highlighted that over time, people became so accustomed to these things that they didn't even notice the need for change.

He added that there was an ecosystem that didn't allow discussions about good things to take place and put energy into preventing such discussions.

PM Modi emphasised that in a democracy, it is crucial to have discussions and debates about positive things. However, he added that a narrative has been created that saying something negative or spreading negativity is considered democratic, whereas if positive things are discussed, democracy is labelled as weak.

He stressed that it was essential to come out of this mentality.

Remarking that after independence, numerous districts in the country were left untouched by development due to poor governance, PM Modi said instead of focusing on these districts, they were labelled as backward and left to their fate.

No one was willing to address their issues, and government officers were sent there as punishment postings, he noted.

“We changed this approach by declaring over 100 districts as Aspirational Districts”, said the Prime Minister.

He added that young officers were sent to these districts to improve governance at the micro-level, who worked on indicators where these districts lagged and implemented flagship government schemes in mission mode.

“Today, many of these aspirational districts have become inspirational districts,” he said.

Citing an instance, PM Modi said that in 2018, only 26 per cent of elementary schools in Barpeta, Assam, had the correct student-to-teacher ratio, which is now 100 per cent.

He added that in Begusarai, Bihar, the number of pregnant women receiving supplementary nutrition was 21 per cent and in Chandauli, UP, it was 14 per cent while today, both districts have achieved 100 per cent.