The government has succeeded in reducing the number of Maoist-hit districts, across the country, to just 11 from 125 a decade ago, underlined Prime Minister Narendra Modi at NDTV World Summit in Delhi.
PM Modi was addressing a session titled “Unstoppable Bharat: The Force of Now” at the Bharat Mandapam, a world-class convention centre at Pragati Maidan in the city.
The theme of the 2025 edition is ‘Edge of the Unknown: Risk. Resolve. Renewal’. It is an invitation to confront uncertainty with imagination, to see resolve not as reaction but as deliberate intention, and to embrace renewal not as a return to the past but as the creation of futures yet to be defined.
The Prime Minister spoke about how from a ‘Fragile Five’ economy before 2014, India has emerged as one of the top five economies of the world, outlining the country’s growth journey in 11 years.
Here are top quotes from the Prime Minister’s speech:
* This is a season of festivals. I wish all of you a very Happy Diwali
* In this happy environment, NDTV has organised its world summit. And the topic is apt – Unstoppable Bharat. Really, Bharat is in no mood to stop
* Before 2014, recall the topics that were discussed in conclaves. Discussions centred around how India will face global headwinds? How will it remain in a state of policy paralysis?
* People used to believe India will never be able to come out of these crises. But in the last 11 years, India has defied all odds
* India has come out of fragile five to rank among the top 5 economies
* Now, the self-reliant India does not stay silent, it gives a befitting response through surgical strike, airstrike and Operation Sindoor
* During Covid, when everyone was thinking about how this country will save itself, India proved every assumption wrong. We defeated the challenge and became the fastest-growing economy
* Soon after Covid, headlines were dominated by conflicts and wars. But India kept moving forward
* In the last 3 years, India’s average growth has been 7.8%. Just 2 days ago, the merchandise exports data came out, and India’s exports have grown by 7%
* IMF did an upward revision of India’s growth. Google made a big investment announcement the other day. Big investments are being made in the energy and semiconductor sectors
* UK PM Keir Starmer came to India with his biggest delegation. It showed that the world sees opportunity in India. World sees India as a responsible partner
* These investments are helping make India the nerve centre of global investment. The edge of the unknown is the gateway of opportunity for India
* We have converted every risk into reform, reform into resilience and resilience into resolution. The IMF chief recently said that she is excited by the reforms in India
* We have heard the talks of reform earlier also. But that reform was out of compulsion
* India has proved everyone wrong. Today India 50% digital transaction in fintech world happens in India
* India performed better than every estimate. This is India’s mood today
* Unlike Congress, we worked towards democratising policies. This is the driving force behind Unstoppable Bharat. Congress distanced people from banks. Poor people were scared to go to the banks. When we took over, half of the population didn’t even have bank accounts
* We took the country out of this governmentalisation. We brought reforms into the banking sector. Digital transactions have made India one of the most inclusive countries in terms of finance
* Congress tried to shut petrol pumps from 8 pm to 8 am to avoid government subsidies. Today, petrol pumps stay open for 24 hours
* In 2013, the Congress was brainstorming if they should give 6 cylinders or 9 cylinders per year. We gave free gas connections to 10 crore people
* In that era of governmentalisation, they (Congress) would put locks on PSUs if they were not performing well. But, we changed that thought, all our PSUs are making new records of profits
* Listen to all their (Congress Prime Ministers’) speeches from the Red Fort, all of them were about the poor. But they couldn’t reduce poverty. Today, there is a dedicated government for the poor, we prioritise those marginalised
* India is among top 5 countries which has their own 4G stack
* Congress did not leave any stone unturned in destroying BSNL, Today, BSNL is scaling new heights
* So far, through e-sanjeevani, 42 crore people have used OPD consultation. A sensitive government, a government dedicated towards democracy and constitution, makes such decisions and policies. Our stress is on making people’s lives easier and increasing their savings
* We have given benefits to taxpayers. We have made tax zero on income till Rs 12 lakh. With the Income tax and GST moves, the country will save Rs 2.5 lakh crore
* During the Congress rule, there was dominance of the ecosystem of urban naxals
* Many victims of Maoist terror had come to Delhi a few days ago. Many of them had lost their limbs to Maoism. They were in Delhi for 7 days. But the contractors of Maoism didn’t let their plea reach the world
* In the last 50-55 years, thousands were killed by Maoist terror. These Naxals will not get schools or hospitals built. They will not let doctors enter hospitals. They would bomb institutions
* Maoist terror was an injustice to the youth of people and I couldn’t have let this happen to them. I used to feel agitated. This is the first time I am expressing my pain to the world
* Which is why, after 2014, we made efforts to bring these wayward youth to the mainstream. Today, the country is seeing the results of these efforts
* 303 Naxals have surrendered. They were not normal people; they were carrying bounties on their heads, huge cache of arms was recovered from them
* Earlier, the headlines were about vehicles blown up in Bastar, security personnel killed in Bastar; today, the youth there are organising Bastar Olympics. This is a big change. Now, they will be able to celebrate Diwali