NEW DELHI: “India chose not to miss any bus since 2014,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, claiming that the previous government could not see beyond elections and thus used to “miss the buses” on opportunities to create technology and industry in the country.While speaking at the ET World Leaders Forum, the Prime Minister stated that past governments had kept the nation entangled in vote-bank politics.”In everyday conversation, we often use a phrase … “missing the bus” – meaning when an opportunity comes but passes us by. In our country, under previous governments, many such buses of technology and industry opportunities left us behind. I have not come here today to criticise anyone. But in a democracy, sometimes making comparisons makes the situation clearer,” PM Modi said.”The earlier governments kept the nation entangled in vote-bank politics. Their thinking did not go beyond elections. They believed that creating cutting-edge technology was the job of developed nations. Whenever we needed it, we would simply import it from them. This was the very reason our country lagged behind many others for years. We kept missing the bus,” he added.PM Modi also took a swipe at the UPA government over the alleged 2G scam and said that the nation always remained dependent on foreign players.”Let me give you some examples. When the era of the internet began across the world, our government missed the bus. Then came the era of 2G — what all happened during that time, we all saw, and again we missed that bus. For 2G, 3G, and even 4G, we remained dependent on foreign players. How long could this go on?” PM Modi said.”That is why, after 2014, India changed its approach. India decided that we will not miss any bus. Instead, we will sit in the driving seat and move forward,” he added.PM Modi underlined that despite the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, India has managed to maintain strong fundamentals. “Our fiscal deficit is predicted to come down to 4.4%, that too after the setbacks of Covid,” he said, adding that the economy has shown remarkable recovery.The Prime Minister pointed to strengthened banking systems, low inflation, reduced interest rates, and a current account deficit under control as signs of resilience and confidence in India’s economic trajectory.
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