India has transformed from a ‘fragile five’ to a ‘top five’ economy: President Murmu

New Delhi,  President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday said that India has transformed from a “fragile five” to a “top five” economy by taking many path-breaking decisions in the past few years.

Addressing the joint sitting of Parliament on the opening day of Budget Session, Murmu said the past year has been full of historic achievements for India and during this period, there were many moments which enhanced the pride of our countrymen.

The government has implemented several schemes to curb corruption and improve governance, including the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity, which has helped prevent Rs 2.75 lakh crore of public money from being misused.

In her address in the new Parliament building, she said the government has made good governance and transparency, the main foundation of every institution in the last decade, due to which major economic reforms have been witnessed.

Murmu said the government is committed to creating a conducive environment for doing business in India, and the government is consistently working towards this goal.

She said more than 40,000 compliances have been removed or simplified in the last few years and 63 provisions in the Companies Act and Limited Liability Partnership Act have been removed from the list of criminal offences.

Talking about the MSME sector, the President said the definition of MSMEs has been expanded.

“Presently, approximately 3.5 crore MSMEs are registered on the Udyam and Udyam Assist Portal. Under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs, guarantees of nearly Rupees 5 lakh crore have been sanctioned in the last few years”,she added.

Acknowledging India’s achievement in the digital sector, Murmu said, ” Digital India has made life and business much easier in India and today, the whole world acknowledges this as a great achievement of India”.

“Today, 46 percent of the world’s total real-time digital transactions take place in India and a record 1200 crore transactions were done through UPI last month, she said, adding that this amounts to a record transaction of Rupees 18 lakh crore”.

The President said, “Digital Health IDs of around 53 crore people have been created under Ayushman Bharat Health Account“.

On the infrastructure sector, Murmu articulated that nearly 3.75 lakh kilometers of new roads have been built in the villages and the length of National Highways has increased from 90,000 kilometers to 1 lakh 46,000 kilometers.

She said nearly 2 lakh village panchayats of the country have been connected with optical fiber and more than 4 lakh common service centers have been opened in villages which is a major source of employment.

“More than 25,000 kilometers of railway tracks were laid and this is more than the total length of railway tracks in many developed countries” the President said.

Murmu said India is very close to 100% electrification of railways and today Vande Bharat trains are running on more than 39 routes.

She added that more than 1300 railway stations are being transformed under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

Touching upon the ‘Viksit Bharat’, the President said it would be erected on 4 strong pillars, which are – youth power, women power, farmers and poor.

She said 4 crore 10 lakh poor families have got their own pucca houses and about Rs 6 lakh crore have been spent on this initiative.

“For the first time, piped water has reached about 11 crore rural families. Around Rs 4 lakh crore are being spent on this scheme and around 10 crore Ujjwala gas connections have by now been provided”, Murmu said.

Speaking about the Agriculture sector, the President said, ” It is our government that has formulated the Agricultural Export Policy in the country for the first time”.

Murmu said, “Under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, farmers have received over Rs 2 lakh 80 thousand crore so far”.

“Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers paid a premium of Rs 30,000 crore. In return, they have received a claim of R 1.5 lakh crore” she added.

On MSP (Minimum Support Price), the President said in the last 10 years, farmers have received nearly Rs 18 lakh crore as MSP for paddy and wheat crops. This is 2.5 times more than the preceding 10 years before 2014.

Murmu noted that all these public welfare schemes are not just services but these are having a positive impact on the life cycle of the citizens of the country.

She said the construction of 11 crore toilets and elimination of open defecation have prevented the incidence of many diseases as a result, every poor household in the urban area is saving up to Rs 60,000 per year on medical expenses”.

“My government, guided by the mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas, is committed to providing fair opportunities to every section of the society,” the President added.