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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday urged lenders to finance businesses in rural centres and projects aligned to national priorities such as net zero emissions, building health infrastructure, space industry development, exports, and startups.
In a virtual event on ‘Financing for Growth and Aspirational Economy’ that focused on implementation of union budget proposals for FY23, Modi outlined sectors that could boost the economy and help Indian businesses become world leaders, provided finance is made available.
Modi said natural and organic farming, bee keeping, warehousing, food processing and agriculture logistics are areas in rural economy that needed support from financial institutions. The prime minister also said that given the right support, these and other sectors could produce champions that could find a place among the top three players in the world.
Modi’s appeal to financial institutions to back these emerging areas including startups, exporters and sustainable infrastructure projects, signals the government’s eagerness to get the economy, battered by the pandemic, back on track and add the much-needed jobs and livelihoods.
The role of financial institutions is key to achieving self reliance, Modi said, referring to his government’s emphasis on infrastructure creation and development of the most backward districts in the country. In the eastern part of the country, blessed with natural resources, a lot of improvement in economic development and infrastructure creation is possible, Modi said, highlighting the need for financing projects. Whether it is fintech or agri-tech, the pillars of industry 4.0 needs to be given priority, he said in a speech delivered in Hindi.
“Can we identify eight to ten such sectors and take efforts on that, can India not be within the top three in those sectors? This can happen in partnership with the private sector. Can there not be construction companies in India which are among the top three in the world? In the number of start-ups, we are progressing. But in terms of quality, uniqueness and technological base, can our start-ups get a place among the top three?" Modi said.
Modi said the government has opened up drone, space and geospatial sectors. “It is a game changer. Can we not dream to be among the top three in these sectors? Can our institutions not help them in that endeavour?"
For all this to happen, it is very important that the companies coming in these sectors get support from financial institutions in a proactive way, the Prime Minister said, adding that financial institutions need to develop deep understanding and capacity to meet the requirements of these sectors.
Modi urged financial institutions to take their products to villages in the country while the government lays optical fibre network and takes broadband to to rural centres. He said banks needs to prioritise these in their financial planning.
“Global warming is also a big issue. We have kept the goal of net zero emissions by 2070. Work has begun in this direction. It is important to give momentum to environment friendly projects. Green financing is the need of the hour," Modi said. He said building disaster resilient infrastructure was an example of such projects.
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