We've reimagined infrastructure as one large plan, says PM Narendra Modi

PM Modi said that the government is working to uplift people alongside building infrastructure

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India has shown the world how to turn a challenge into an opportunity. While speaking at the ET Global Business Summit 2023, he said that the government is working to uplift people alongside building infrastructure.

Giving the instance of Gati Shakti platform the PM said that the platform has 1,600 layers of data to ensure better decision-making.
 

Taking a jibe at previous government, the he said that now decisions on where to place a school in a developing area is based on data and not one of political clout.

"We've created a new model for infrastructure. The best example of it is our digital infrastructure. We've laid six lakh kilometres of optical fibre in the past nine years. Data prices have dropped by 25 per cent. Indians are now contributing to 40 per cent of global digital payments," he added.

Speaking on developing Metro rail networks, the PM said the even though India got its first metro in 1984, nothing much was done to utilise to its full potential till 2014. 

"We got first Metro in 1984. Which means we had the technology and the means to build it, but till 2014, nothing was done. We now lay 6 kilometres of metro lines every month. We'll soon be the country with the third most metro connectivity," the PM said.

The PM also said that three crore poor people have been given homes in the past nine years; there are countries that are less populated than that number.

Highlighting his government's approach to develop infrastructure, the PM said, "We used to have dams built and no canal networks, it's like building a six storey building with no stairs or lifts. We had mines but no logistics abilities to transport the coal. We have power plants but not good enough transmission lines. We've reimagined infrastructure as one large plan and not restricted it to silos."

The PM further stated that the government is making all the efforts to bring India's aspirational districts to their full potential. 

"There's been a reduction of infant deaths in an Uttar Pradesh district. In a Maharashtra district the rate of TB vaccination has hit 90 per cent from 40 per cent before. Calling these districts 'backward' alienated them, we reimagined them as 'aspirational'.

Talking about India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of access for all Indians to toilets, the PM said that ever since his government came to power in 2014, India's sanitation coverage has hit 100 per cent