Need well conceived strategy to make India five trillion economy: Manmohan Singh
Jaipur, Sep 7: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that a "well conceived strategy" was needed to make India a five trillion economy.
Singh was speaking at the JK Lakshmipat University, where he was felicitated with the 'JKLU Laureate Award 2019' for his contribution in public service, governance, economy and nation building.
As the former prime minister approached the dais, a section of students shouted pro-Modi slogans.
"Presently, our economy seems to have slowed down. The rate of growth of GDP is declining, investment rate is stagnant, farmers are in distress, banking system is facing a crisis and unemployment is going up. We need a well conceived strategy to make India a five trillion economy," he said.
He suggested that the government should forbid tax terrorism, respect independent voices and provide for checks and balances at every level.
"The need of the hour is to continue with economic reforms," he said.
The Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan said that the country needs principled, knowledgeable and visionary leaders in times to come to strengthen democracy.
Singh said political parties must be committed for safeguarding the values enshrined in the country's Constitution.
"For our continued unity, the government has to deliver justice, liberty, equality and an environment that respects contrary opinions," he said, adding, that supremacy of parliament and its procedures, the rules of the government and precedents have to be respected.
He also said that institutions like the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General, Central Bureau of Investigation, Vigilance Commission, Information Commission and other special commissions are expected to function independently within the framework of the Constitution.
"We must always promote the objective to reduce crime and corruption, consolidate the rule of law, enhance credibility, and create an environment conducive for investment as an engine of growth," he said.
Singh further said that a functional democracy has definite advantages over an authoritarian regime.
Citing the example of China in context of economic development, he said such countries, by persuading citizens to focus primarily on economic growth, created an atmosphere in which sacrificing personal freedom could be justified.
"This allowed these regimes to just impose the politically difficult but critically important policies needed to move the economy forward. However, over time as incomes grow, it changes the aspirations of society, which ultimately strives for a democratic structure," he said.
"The loss of freedom, in the long term run, is not a small price to pay," he commented.
Talking about liberal democracy, he said that it is a model of good governance that includes freedom, pursuit of equality, power sharing, deliberation, periodic elections, independent institutions, and the rule of law.
Referring to the economic reforms introduced in 1991 by the then Congress government, Singh said the steps have led to an improvement in the living standards of the people.
"Since then, millions of people have risen above poverty line. There have been several policy measures undertaken by the successive governments that have led to more inclusive growth in India, particularly assured work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and well designed programmes of universal healthcare and education," he said.
With more purchasing power, demand in the economy goes up, encouraging private investment, more government revenues to fund infrastructure needs and a reduction in social conflict, he added.
"Thus, it is clear that through these channels, democracy does increase economic growth," he said.
He said that population and social inequity, communalism, casteism, religious fundamentalism, corruption are some of the challenges before democracy and literacy and education, rooting out casteism, good governance, women and girl child empowerment, free and independent media and economic growth were needed to counter them.
India has an ancient culture of tolerance and respect for divergent views and a population accustomed to political opposition and peaceful transfer of power for over seven decades, he said.
"Political liberalism is a way of life for us," he said.
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ISRO successfully conducts second integrated air drop test for Gaganyaan mission
New Delhi (PTI): Space agency ISRO has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The system is essential to ensure a safe recovery of the crew module -- the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight -- during re-entry and landing.
Union minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully conducting the test.
"Congratulations #ISRO for the successful accomplishment of Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India's first Human Space flight scheduled next year. The second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) was successfully conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Station Sriharikota," Singh said in a post on X.
The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft's return to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open and the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown etc.
In the IADT-02 test, a simulated crew module, weighing about 5.7 tonnes, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to an altitude of about three kilometres and released over a designated drop zone in the sea, near the Sriharikota coast.
In a statement, the ISRO said, "Ten parachutes of four types were deployed in a precise sequence during the descent of the crew module, gradually reducing the velocity for safe touchdown. Subsequently, the simulated crew module was successfully recovered in coordination with the Indian Navy."
