Rs 100 trillion to be invested for infrastructure creation: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sixth Independence Day speech laid special emphasis on the progress undertaken by his government after being re-elected, and in tune to that, he announced that the government would make an investment of Rs 100 trillion directed towards the development of infrastructure in the country.He further predicted that this level of spending would aid India in doubling the growth of its economy to USD 5 trillion in the next five years. As mentioned in the PIB release of the speech, the Prime Minister said “Our nation must march forward, but the country cannot now wait much longer for incremental progress, we will have to take a big leap, we will have to change our thinking. To make India reach the Global Standards we need to build modern infrastructure.”Within the span of the last five years, key areas of spending under the Modi administration have been roads, railways, water, irrigation and urban infrastructure. In his address, he highlighted the importance of developing the country across all spheres and mentioned the government’s take on ambitious projects like Sagarmala (ports) and Bharatmala (roads). Additionally, he spoke about the creation of infrastructure in areas such as clean energy, electric mobility, gas grid and efforts towards a gas-based economy. “Earlier, when mobile phones were just in vogue, people were content that mobile phone had finally arrived. But now they discuss about data speed. We have to understand this transformation of psychology and changing times. We have to move forward in many fields, with the Global Benchmark like modern infrastructure, clean energy, gas-based economy, gas grid, e-mobility etc.”, he said.The government’s vision of pushing forward the “Make in India” initiative also played a dominant role in the Prime Minister’s speech as he focused on creating a self-reliant nation.