BRICS biz forum gave chance to highlight India's growth trajectory: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the BRICS Business Forum provided him with the opportunity to highlight India's growth trajectory, the steps taken to boost 'Ease of Doing Business' and public service delivery.

"BRICS Business Forum gave me an opportunity to highlight India's growth trajectory and the steps taken to boost 'Ease of Doing Business' and public service delivery. Also emphasised on India's strides in digital payments, infrastructure creation, the world of StartUps and more," PM Modi tweeted on Wednesday.

PM Modi in a special message at the BRICS Business Forum on Tuesday said mutual trust and transparency can help create a big impact, especially in the Global South.

"There is no doubt that India will become the world's growth engine. This is because India took challenges as an opportunity for economic reforms," he said.

"With the use of technology, India has made major leaps in financial inclusion, benefiting rural women the most. In the last nine years, people's income has almost doubled...," the Prime Minister said in the short address.

"Despite the global crisis, India is still the fastest-growing major economy and will soon be a USD 5 trillion economy. From street vendors to shopping malls, UPI is being utilised because of which India now has the most amount of digital transactions in the world. UPI is being used everywhere in India. India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world," the Prime Minister said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the event virtually while Chinese President Xi Jinping's absence was conspicuous as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated at the Business Forum. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attended the event.

PM Modi arrived in South Africa earlier on Tuesday to attend the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg from August 22-24 at the invitation of the country's president Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa.

PM Modi said he looks forward to holding bilateral meetings with "some of the leaders present in Johannesburg".

"BRICS has been pursuing a solid cooperation agenda across various sectors. We value that BRICS has become a platform for discussing and deliberating on issues of concern for the entire Global South, including development imperatives and reform of the multilateral system," the PM said in a statement.

This will be PM Modi's third visit to South Africa and the trip marks the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and South Africa.

This year's BRICS is under the presidency of South Africa. The theme of this year's summit is: "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism.