India Economic Conclave: Decisive leadership must to make India $5-trillion economy, says Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that for India to achieve its target of $5 trillion economy there needs to be a decisive leadership. Speaking at the India Economic Conclave here Fadnavis said that a leadership with policy paralysis cannot achieve growth despite any amount of demographic advantage. “Today we have become the sixth largest and fastest growing economy in the world and considering the strategic and cultural reforms we have undertaken in the last four years I believe we will be able to achieve the $5 trillion target,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_5626951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Twitter/@CMOMaharashtra
[/caption] Fadnavis further said India has opportunities in the form of demographic dividend, democracy and demand and thus it is time to aspire and take systemic efforts to achieve the target. “A leadership with policy paralysis cannot achieve growth despite any amount of demographic advantage. Today, we have a decisive leadership under prime minister Narendra modi… The biggest advantage of India is the brightest minds, the demography and the decisive leadership that will make us leapfrog,” the CM said. Given that we are over a $2.5 trillion economy growing at about 7.5 percent, with business usual we will be a $5 trillion economy by 2028-2029, he added. However, to achieve the target by 2025, the agriculture sector needs to grow at 10 percent, manufacturing needs to grow at nearly 14 percent and the services sector at 13 percent, he pointed out. He expressed concern over the protectionist tendencies that are on a rise among nations who previously championed free trade. Besides, the trade war between US and China is also an issue due to our high dependence on oil and the volatility in oil prices, he said, adding that climate change was a huge factor making the agri-sector unsustainable. “Despite all these, if we work sustainably and strategically I think the $5 trillion target is achievable,” the minister added. Maharashtra contributes to 15-16 percent of the national GDP. “We aspire that by 2025, when India’s economy will be $5 trillion, Maharashtra would be the first state in the country to have a $1 trillion economy,” he said. For that, the minister said the state will have to grow by 5.5 percent in the agri-sector, 12 percent in industry and 14-15 percent in services sector.