"People who were at bottom of Eco. pyramid have come up the ladder and that is why they vote for Namo" : Union Minister Vaishnaw

BJP leader and Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that people who were at the bottom of the economic pyramid have come up the ladder and that is why they chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the third consecutive time.

"As the people who were at the bottom of the economic pyramid come up the ladder, it makes a very big difference. And this was one of the reasons why PM Modi got re-elected for the third time when there are so many democracies which have lost," Vaishnaw said. 

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 in Davos, IT and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw talking to 'India Today' listed out four pillars of the strategy charted out by the central government to make India a developed country.  

He said India has a well thought-through economic strategy at the moment which will help the country to achieve its dream of becoming a developed nation by the year 2047.  

"India has a very well thought-through economic strategy at the moment. The strategy is based on four pillars: One, public investment in social and physical infrastructure. Two, focus on technology manufacturing and innovation. Three, inclusive growth. Four, simplification," the Union Minister said.

"When we look at public investment, the Budget of 2021, we started with around 40 billion US dollars and then ramped it up to 60, 80, 100 and this year (2023-24), the Budget is around 145 US dollars. 

This is going into physical, digital and social infrastructure. 

Physical infrastructure includes the railways, highways, the transmission lines, the ports, the airports. Social infrastructure includes building new hospitals, schools, universities. 

Digital infrastructure includes rolling out 5G services, optical fibre connecting even the last village of the country," he said. 

When asked if the states were 'competing' against each other in Davos to secure investments, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis highlighted Prime Minister Modi's vision for the country and emphasised the importance of both "cooperative and competitive federalism", calling healthy competition among states a driving force for India's growth.

"The PM's 'Team India' dream comprises both - 'Cooperative Federalism' and 'Competitive Federalism'. A healthy competition between the states in Davos will enable the country to grow," he said.

He noted that for India to achieve its goal of becoming the world's third-largest economy, every state must grow. "The best thing about competition is that it lets you grow," Fadnavis said.

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