Kochi: Union Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday said that India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world by 2027 and attributed it to the template for growth set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs said that the template for growth set by the PM was “multifaceted, inclusive, ambitious and will define and redefine the global order”.
The minister was speaking at the Manorama News Conclave 2023 organised by the Malayala Manorama group here.
She said that more than a month ago, Modi had said that in the next two to three years India would become one of the top three economies of the world. However, there are many, especially in the opposition, she added, who did not align their views with that of the PM.
“Recently, a report came from J P Morgan, which said that India would overtake economies like that of Germany and Japan and would indeed by 2027 become the third largest economy in the world,” she said.
Irani further said that even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised the growth projection of India from 6.1 per cent to 6.3 per cent whereas the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has projected a growth of 6.5 per cent.
All this speaks volumes about India’s prospects, she said.
While replying to a question from the audience on tackling the issue of child abuse cases in India, the union minister said that one of the biggest challenges was that close to 80 per cent of cases of abuse involved people that the child knows within the family or friends circle.
She said that the Ministry of Women and Child Development has set up counselling facilities across the country in collaboration with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) for children who are in conflict with the law and also children who need protection of the law.
These services have also been expanded to include caregivers of such children so that they know how to process the trauma, Irani said.
The minister also referred to the various initiatives of the union government in this regard, which included the decision to set up 1,036 fast track courts across the country, of which 400 are dedicated to handling cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
With regard to cases of missing children, Irani said that Modi has ensured that changes were brought in the Juvenile Justice Act so that every district magistrate and Superintendent of Police has designated duties to ensure that each child is protected.
When asked about the women’s agenda getting prominence in the G20, Irani said the subject was always reduced to the sidelines in the past and it was due to the efforts of the Prime Minister that it was mainstreamed and made a part of the main agenda.
She also spoke about the sports culture in India, saying that the 107 medals India won in the Asian Games speaks volumes about its sporting promise.
Irani claimed that most sports enthusiasts attributed the medal haul this year to the central government’s TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) scheme.
The union minister, in her speech at the event, also touched upon the topics of unemployment and poverty and claimed that 13.5 crore Indians had been brought out of multidimensional poverty.
She also claimed that unemployment in the country stood at a six-year low of 3.2 per cent.
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