New Delhi, September 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday highlighted India’s recent 7.8 per cent quarterly growth and other economic indicators to contrast the country’s current performance with what he described as the “policy paralysis” of the pre-2014 era under the Congress-led government.
Addressing the centenary celebrations of Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Modi said the world now views India as the fastest-growing major economy. He cited a series of developments from the past week, including a Japanese agency’s upgrade of India’s credit rating, a nine per cent increase in power generation and a 20 per cent rise in overall vehicle sales.
He said two-wheeler sales had risen by around 20 per cent, while three-wheeler sales increased by nearly 30 per cent. The Prime Minister also pointed to strengthening consumer demand and expanding commercial activity as signs of economic momentum.
Modi recalled conditions in 2013, when he was Gujarat Chief Minister and had addressed SRCC as a prominent opposition leader. Referring to headlines from that period, he cited incidents involving Indian soldiers on the Line of Control, weak GDP growth estimates, pressure on the current account deficit, inflation of around 10 per cent, an industrial slowdown, the helicopter scam, bribery allegations linked to deals involving Saudi Arabia and bomb blasts in Hyderabad.
“Growth was on the floor, and inflation and corruption were at their peak,” Modi said. “Terrorists were rampant… and there was nothing but despair.”
He described the period as one of policy paralysis that had left India in a “quagmire of despair”, and recalled the country’s then classification among the “fragile five nations”.
Contrasting that period with the present, Modi said the backbone of Naxalism had been broken and argued that international discussions about India had shifted from policy paralysis to policy dynamism.
The Prime Minister also reflected on SRCC’s transformation from its early beginnings in Daryaganj to its present stature as a prominent institution that has produced professionals, leaders, artists, lawyers and entrepreneurs. He referred to several alumni with whom he had worked, including former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and current team member Sanjeev Sanyal.
Modi said his 2013 speech at SRCC had been revisited in the days leading up to the centenary event. He recalled that many had expected him to use the platform to launch an extended attack on the then Central government.
“Despite being a critic of the then government, I did not use that platform only for criticism. I kept the vision and spoke positive things,” he said.
Revisiting his “glass” metaphor from that address, Modi recalled saying that the glass should not be viewed as either half full or half empty, but as completely full — half with water and half with air. He suggested that this optimism had informed India’s subsequent growth roadmap.
The Prime Minister said India’s ability to maintain robust growth despite global challenges, including regional conflicts and other disruptions, demonstrated the country’s underlying economic strength.
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