NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that reforms, whether implemented through the annual budget or outside it, are gaining momentum, positioning India to drive global growth and emerge as the world’s new economic engine.
Speaking at the ET Now Global Business Summit 2026, Modi said the FY27 budget, with its emphasis on capital expenditure and technology, has further accelerated the “reform express”. Union budgets have become more outcome focused, he said.
“Today’s India is confident, globally competitive, and has built a strong manufacturing ecosystem over the past eleven years,” an official statement quoted Modi, while highlighting the government’s push to liberalize trade through new free trade agreements.
The prime minister noted that the government has made the budget both outlay- and outcome-centric, while reforms continue outside the budget. He cited GST reforms, the Constitutional amendment reserving a third of Lok Sabha and state assembly seats for women, and the law against triple talaq as examples.
When the last decade began, India was the eleventh largest economy, and amid turmoil there were fears of decline, but today India is rapidly advancing to become the world’s third largest economy, Modi said, adding that the country currently contributes more than 16% of global growth, a share he expects to rise in coming years.
India’s economy is projected to grow at 7.4% in the current financial year.
Infrastructure spending has been increased to nearly ₹17 trillion rupees, Modi said, referring to the multiplier effect of capex in boosting capacity, productivity, and job creation across multiple sectors.
He highlighted budget announcements such as five university townships, the development of city economic regions in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and seven new high-speed rail corridors, describing them as “true investments in the youth and the future of the nation.”
The prime minister also emphasized state empowerment. Between 2014 and 2025, states received ₹84 trillion. With the near ₹14 trillion proposed in FY27, total tax devolution under his government will approach ₹100 trillion, enabling state-led development nationwide.
Modi credited India’s enhanced economic strength and policy clarity for facilitating trade deals, noting that in the past decade, India has concluded agreements with 38 countries.
“Today, we are entering trade agreements because India is confident. Today’s India is prepared to compete globally…India, today, is capable and empowered, and that is why the world trusts us. This transformation forms the foundation of the paradigm shift in our trade policy, and this paradigm shift has become an essential pillar in our journey toward a developed India,” he said.
He said government machinery is now more proactive and future-oriented, noting that critics question his vision for 2047 and a developed India as uncertain. He added that if 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 India is prepared to meet these revolutionary changes.
