cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/63746

From the Article:

On Thursday (July 14), Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed members of the Indian diaspora at the La Seine Musicale centre in the western suburbs of Paris in France.

At the very onset of his address, PM Modi emphasised, “Away from the country, when I hear the call of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, it feels as if I have come home. Wherever we Indians go, we definitely create a mini India.”

He added, “Be it climate change, global supply chain, terrorism, extremism, India’s experience in dealing with every challenge is proving helpful to the world.”

“The land of India is witnessing a big change. The command of this change lies with the citizens of India, with the sisters and daughters of India, with the youth of India. Today the whole world is full of new hope and new hope towards India,” he emphasised.

PM Modi said, “I came out of my home with a resolve. Every part of me and every moment of time is dedicated to my countrymen.”

India’s success story

PM Modi pointed out that India is the ‘mother of democracy’ and the country is a ‘model of diversity’. While speaking about India’s economic success story, he said, “You will be filled with pride knowing that India has become the world’s 5th largest economy in 10 years.”

“Today the world believes that it will not take long for India to become a 5 trillion economy,” he added. PM Modi also spoke about the report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), wherein it congratulated India for lifting 415 million people out of poverty in the past 15 years.

While speaking about the G20 Summit, he said, “Today, the world is moving towards new world order. The capability and the role of India is changing fast. At this time, India is the President of the G20 group. It’s for the first time, in a country’s Presidency, that more than 200 meetings are being held across the country.”

UPI revolution in India

“Today 46% of the world’s real-time digital transactions take place in India. I also challenge you that when you come to India next time, come without keeping a single penny in your pocket and just download the UPI app on your mobile phone. You can travel all over India and live without cash,” he emphasised.

PM Modi applauded India’s 24/7 banking service and direct benefit transfer, which has brought about a massive social transformation in the country.

“In France, an agreement has been made for the use of India’s UPI…It will be started from the Eiffel Tower, and now Indian tourists would be able to make payments in Rupees, through UPI, at Eiffel Tower,” he announced.

Enhanced bilateral relations with France

PM Modi informed that owing to enhanced bilateral ties with France, the post-study visa for Indian students has been increased to 5 years from 2 years.

“Very few people know that India and France are working on archaeological missions for a long time. It’s expanded from Chandigarh to Ladakh. Digital infrastructure is another sector that strengthens the ties between India and France,” he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also heaped praise on French footballer, Kylian Mbappe. “He is superhit among the youth in India. Mbappe is probably known to more people in India than in France,” he was heard saying.

The Indian Prime Minister also thanked the French government for paying respect to the Indian soldiers, who fought for the country over 100 years ago.

He said that he was the first member of a French cultural centre, named Alliance française in Ahmedabad, when it opened 40 years ago.

Invest in India and tourism

PM Modi also congratulated the ISRO scientists for the launch of the Chandrayaan-3 space mission. He also urged the world to come and invest in India.

During his address, the Indian Prime Minister called upon the Indian diaspora to encourage French citizens to visit India and discover the richness of the country.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.run/post/29129

The Finance Ministry on Thursday released the Annual Economic Review report for the month of May 2023 and said that a strong final quarter pushed India's GDP to 7.2 per cent in FY 23. This is higher than the 7 per cent estimated in February.

The report added that the post-pandemic quarterly trajectories of consumption and investment have crossed the pre-pandemic levels.

“The domestic demand has, however, recovered since then and moved from strength to strength in FY23. In the process, it enabled a near convergence of the pre- and post-pandemic quarterly growth trajectories," said Finance Ministry in its report.

The report said that external demand did not works for the economy in the second half as well of FY23.

“When external demand starts to work, the pre-and post-pandemic trajectories of real GDP will also converge. The supply side served well the demand side in FY23," it stated.

The agriculture sector registered a twelve-quarter record high growth rate in the last quarter. The industrial sector rebounded in Q4, driven by manufacturing. The year-end saw the contact-intensive services sector fully recovering to its pre-pandemic expanse and depth.

The rising employment levels strengthened domestic demand, said the report.

The labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India rose through the pandemic in line with the pre-pandemic trend. The overall unemployment rate declined to a five-year low of 4.1 per cent in FY22, raising with it the worker-population ratio.

More recently, in FY23, the urban unemployment rate declined in each quarter, reflecting steady growth in employment levels in the country.

“Growing employment levels, in part, have been an outcome of several policy measures implemented over the last few years. These measures strengthened the corporate sector, supported small enterprises, improved the ease of doing business, and attracted foreign capital to increase the employment generation capacity of the economy," it stated.

An increase in repo rates has worked for India, enabling a 40-45 per cent of transmission in lending and deposit rates by the end of FY23, it stated.