Industry must invest, innovate; take advantage of Budget announcements: Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked the industry to come forward with investment and innovation, and exhorted financial institutions to help them with practical solutions and strengthen market confidence.
Addressing a post-Budget webinar on 'Technology, Reforms and Finance for Viksit Bharat', Modi said when government, industry and knowledge partners come together, "reforms translate into results", and "announcements on paper turn into achievements on the ground".
In the last one decade, the government has laid emphasis on infrastructure, he said, adding that public capex has increased from Rs 2 lakh crore 11 years ago, to over Rs 12 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2026-27.
This high capex allocation is a signal to the private sector to come forward with new vigour, Modi said, adding that the industry should take advantage of all the 2026-27 Budget announcements.
"India Inc should come forward with fresh investment, innovation; financial institutions should help design practical solutions and improve market confidence," Modi said.
Over the past decade, India has demonstrated extraordinary resilience, the PM said, adding that this has not happened by chance but due to conviction-driven reforms.
The government has also simplified processes and made ease of doing business much simpler.
"My suggestion is that we should develop a clear 'Reform Partnership Charter' which will have collaboration between government, industry, financial institutions and academia. This charter will become an important document in the goal to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047," he said.
Observing that the Budget is often evaluated on different parameters, Modi said "the national Budget is not a short-term trading document. It is a policy roadmap. Therefore, the effectiveness of the Budget should also be assessed on solid and substantive parameters".
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PoK will 'reintegrate with India soon', says head of All India Imam Organisation
Srinagar (PTI): Chief Imam of the All India Imam Organisation, Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, on Friday said Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) would "very soon" be reintegrated with India.
"I want to say one thing to our neighbouring country from standing here in Kashmir that PoK, which is an integral part of India, will definitely rejoin India because the people of PoK want to have a referendum there," Ilyasi told reporters here.
He claimed that the residents of PoK are keen to reintegrate with India, citing the development and prosperity witnessed in Jammu and Kashmir.
"God willing, their 'ghar wapsi' will take place soon. It is the people there who want it. They are happy to see the development of Kashmir. Seeing how Kashmir is progressing today, PoK will be rejoined with India very soon," he said.
The chief Imam said he was very happy to see a "transformed" Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370.
"It has become a new Kashmir. Today's Kashmir has become excellent; there is prosperity throughout, and tourism has increased. The people here are prosperous. There was a time when young people and children here used to throw stones. Today, they have pens in their hands. They are studying," he said.
Referring to last year's terror attack in Baisaran meadows in Pahlagam that left 25 tourists and a local pony handler dead, Ilyasi said tourism had briefly declined after the incident but urged people to visit the region.
"I want to tell everyone that they should visit Kashmir as there is no atmosphere of fear now," he said.
On the conflict in West Asia, he said war benefits no one and expressed hope for peace.
"Wars harm everyone; they are a sign of destruction. I have hopes from our country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, and God willing, he will mediate, and the war will end soon... there will be peace and tranquillity," he said.
