New Delhi, Jan 31 (FN Bureau) Highlighting the performance of the economy over the last 10 years, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said that India has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy despite serious global crisis. Kicking off the Budget session of Parliament with her address to both the Houses, the President noted that the Indian economy has consistently maintained a growth rate of over 7.5% for two consecutive quarters. Murmu said that government jobs were given to lakhs of youth in mission mode last year.
Citing NITI Aayog report, she said that about 25 crore countrymen have been lifted out of poverty in the last 10 years. “This is something that instills great confidence among the poor. If the poverty of 25 crore people can be alleviated, then her poverty can also be alleviated,” the President said. She said that India has transformed from “fragile five” to a “top five” economy. “India’s exports have increased from about $450 billion to more than $775 billion. FDI flows have doubled,” Murmu noted. She said that in 10 years, capex has increased five times to Rs 10 lakh crore and record construction of infrastructure had taken place. “Nearly 3.75 lakh kilometers of new roads have been built in the villages. The length of National Highways has increased from 90,000 kilometers to 1.46 lakh kilometers. The length of four-lane national highways has increased 2.5 times. The length of the high-speed corridor, which was 500 kilometers earlier, is now 4,000 kilometers,” the President said.
She said that the government has kept the fiscal deficit under control and the country has forex reserves in excess of $ 600 billion. “Our banking system, which was in a very bad shape earlier, has today become one of the strongest banking systems in the world. NPAs (non-performing assets) of banks which used to be in double digits in the past are today around only 4%,” Murmu said. Speaking about the country’s manufacturing sector, the President said that India is today the world’s second-largest producer of mobile phones. “During the last decade, there has been a five-fold increase in mobile phone manufacturing,” Murmu said.