CII President Sanjiv Bajaj Statement on PM speech

Panch Pran – to Act as the Life Force of the New India: CII on ‘India First’

“We are inspired by the words of the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on the special occasion of India’s 75 years of Independence. The Prime Minister has urged citizens to work as ‘Team India’ and CII pledges its support to this, to realize our collective dream of building India into a powerhouse of development by India@100,” stated Mr Sanjiv Bajaj, President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), on the address to the nation delivered by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

CII believes that the five factors outlined by the Hon’ble Prime Minister will act as the life force of New India – the Panch Pran. The aspiration of a developed India by 2047 resonates with the hopes and dreams of citizens and industry at large. The Prime Minister has rightly stressed on today’s youth to take forward the development agenda over the Amrit Kaal period of the next 25 years.

The Prime Minister has outlined the roadmap for the next 25 years, which will take the nation to new heights, added Mr Bajaj. He has urged the private sector to be a growth leader in fostering Aatmanirbharta and also for strengthening its global footprint, which is the need of the hour in the current global context.

The PM called this era a ‘Tech-ade’ and stressed on R&D, innovation and digitalization as the priorities of the future. In alignment with this, CII is deeply focused on building a robust ecosystem of innovation, start-ups and also supporting the inclusion of women in STEM related fields. This will help us meet the twin objective of women’s empowerment as well as fortify a key foundation of the Tech-ade, that is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The CII release noted that the country needs strong domestic financial institutions to support the needs of people and the MSMEs.

“A most contextual initiative worth mentioning today is the India@75 initiative that we had started way back in 2008. The vision and the agenda were so compelling that it galvinised the entire nation. Therefore, CII has now embarked on creating a vision for India@100 to align with the direction that the Hon’ble Prime Minister has set for the country” said Mr Bajaj.

Some reforms that will be crucial to help us achieve our goals in the next 25 years include factor market reforms and their implementation, focusing on education and healthcare sectors and fostering Public Private Partnership in these areas, strengthening  agriculture and agri exports, privatization initiatives, financial sector reforms, increasing global competitiveness of Indian products, and greater synergy between centre, states and citizens, said CII.

15 August 2022

New Delhi