NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said reforms, whether implemented through the annual budget or outside, are gaining momentum, allowing India to drive global growth and become the new engine of the world economy.
At the ET Now Global Business Summit 2026, Modi said the FY27 budget, with emphasis on capital expenditure and technology, further accelerated the “reform express”. According to him, Union budgets focus more on results.
“Today’s India is self-confident, globally competitive and has built a strong manufacturing ecosystem over the past eleven years,” Modi’s official statement quoted him as saying, while highlighting the government’s push to liberalize trade through new free trade agreements.
The Prime Minister noted that the government has made a budget focused on both expenditure and outcome, while reforms continue outside the budget. He cited GST reforms, a constitutional amendment reserving a third of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats for women and the anti-triple talaq law as examples.
When the last decade began, India was the 11th largest economy and there were fears of a slowdown amid the turbulence, but today India is on pace to become the world’s third largest economy, Modi said, adding that the country currently contributes more than 16% to global growth, a share he expects to grow in the coming years.
The Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.4% in the current financial year.
Infrastructure spending has almost been increased ₹17 trillion rupees, Modi said, citing the multiplier effect of investment spending on increasing capacity, productivity and job creation in various sectors.
He highlighted budget announcements such as five university towns, the development of urban economic regions in tier 2 and 3 cities and seven new high-speed rail corridors, describing them as “real investments in the nation’s youth and future”.
The prime minister also emphasized the empowerment of the state. Between 2014 and 2025, the states received ₹84 trillion. With almost ₹14 trillion proposed in FY27, total tax decentralization under his administration will come close ₹100 trillion, enabling state-led development at the national level.
Modi credited India’s increased economic strength and policy clarity for facilitating trade deals, noting that in the past decade India had concluded agreements with 38 countries.
“We are entering into trade agreements today because India is confident. Today’s India is ready to compete globally…Today’s India is capable and empowered and that is why the world trusts us. This transformation forms the basis of a paradigm shift in our trade policy and this paradigm shift has become the cornerstone of our journey to a developed India,” he said.
He said the government machinery is now more proactive and forward-looking, noting that critics have questioned his vision for 2047 and a developed India as uncertain. He added that if the freedom fighters had adopted a similar mindset, India would never have gained independence.
The prime minister concluded by warning that the world must adapt to emerging disruptions, especially from artificial intelligence, which is already transforming economies. He said that India is ready to face these revolutionary changes.