Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the BJP-led government has given the country a solid foundation so that it can achieve its target to be US $5 trillion economy by 2024. “The country has made itself so strong in the last five years that we can set such targets and achieve them too,” he said at a function to mark 100 years of ASSOCHAM (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) in New Delhi on Friday. Every group that can enable the economy is keeping the target of $5 trillion economy at the centre of its plans and talks are happening in several sectors, the PM said, adding that the credit for every achieved target goes to the people, and not to the government. “Five-six years back, our economy was heading towards disaster. Our government has not only stabilised it, but also made efforts to bring discipline to it. We have paid attention to fulfilling the decades old demands of the industry,” he said. The Prime Minister also said that the government is moving forward by using technology to modernise and speed-up the economy. “You climb up the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings when you work hard day and night, when you bring about a change in the policies, starting from the ground,” PM Modi added. The BJP promised to make India a US $5 trillion economy by 2024 in its manifesto ahead of the national polls in April-May, though declining economic growth has caused some economists to wonder if the target wasn’t too ambitious .The size of India’s economy was estimated at $2.75 trillion at the end of March. The country’s economy expanded at its weakest pace in more than six years in the quarter ending September. The gross domestic product (GDP) was projected to grow at 4.7%, down from 5.0% in the previous three months and 7% for the corresponding period of 2018. The central government has taken several steps, including cutting corporate tax in September, to boost investments and bolster economic growth.
