Critics of $5 tn economy goal are professional pessimists: Modi
   Date :07-Jul-2019

 
VARANASI:
 
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dismissed as “professional pessimists” the critics of the Centre’s target to achieve a USD 5-trillion economy within the next five years and asserted that the “new India” is on the threshold of sprinting forward. A day after the Union Budget was presented by Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman, the Prime Minister shared his views on the Budget at the launch of the BJP’s membership drive here on the occasion of the 118th birth anniversary of party ideologue Syama Prasad Mukherjee.
 
Modi said his Government’s Budget for 2019-20 lays down a roadmap for nearly doubling the size of the Indian economy to USD 5 trillion in five years by raising percapita income,boosting consumption and increasing productivity. “Size of the cake matters. The larger the cake, larger pieces are what people will get. So we have set a target of making India a USD 5 trillion economy. Larger the size of the economy will be, the larger prosperity will it bring for the country,” he said.
 
Citing global examples,he said countries have leap frogged from developing to developed status on the back of a jumpin per capita income. “India can also do that. The target is not difficult,” he said. Modi said some people are questioning the need for becoming a USD5-trillion economy. “They are what I call professional pessimists.
 
They are detached from the common man and if you go to them for a solution, they will put you in crisis,” hesaid,adding while there should be debate and criticism on ways and means of achieving the goal, but questioning the target of building a USD 5 trillion economy is wrong.“The country needs to be wary of these pessimists,” the Prime Minister said. Referring to the budget ary provisions, Modi said a “new India” was on the thres hold of sprinting forward and recited a few couplets in Hindi which means the challenges before one also offer immense opportunities to surmount them and everyone’s contribution in the development the country will be a true gift for mother India.