AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio Newsonair. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation. In this article, an interview discussing the “PM’s Message at the World Economic Forum in Davos: India and Global Supply Chains” is featured.

Participants:

Sharad Kohli, Economic Analyst

Ruchika Chitravanshi, Journalist.

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a special address to the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda. He has talked about various topics such as climate change, the pandemic, cryptocurrency, etc. The article will discuss the key takeaways of the address in detail.

Key Takeaways of the address:

P-3 Approach:

• During the address, PM Modi proposed a P-3 approach that stands for “pro-planet-people”.
• PM said that India contributes 5 percent of global carbon usage but India’s commitment to phasing out non-renewable energy is 100 percent. 
• India has been a driving force in the global movement to fight climate change. 
• PM Modi said that the model of growth in India will be green, reliable, and sustainable.

Global Supply Chain:

• India is not only working towards attracting more foreign investment but also trying to incentivize domestic investment and production. India is committed to making the global supply chain smooth.
• PM Modi discussed the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme in 14 sectors that focus on increasing production by providing assistance to the sectors covered under the scheme.

Ease of doing business:

• PM Modi talked about simplifying the tax structure to remove the challenges faced by businesses in India. 
• India is improving the ease of doing business and various reforms introduced in India are making India the best investment destination in the world.

Covid-19 Pandemic:

• India worked on strengthening the Covid specific health infrastructure, trained the human resources to tackle the pandemic, and used technology massively for testing and tracking of the cases.
• India’s Vaccine Maitri is an example of India’s courage and efforts in dealing with the Pandemic.
• The country has administrated 160 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines over the past year and India is fighting another Covid wave with caution and resilience

Digital Infrastructure:

• The digital infrastructure has grown tremendously in the last six years in India. 
• Today, more than 1.3 billion people in India have a Universal ID – Aadhaar Card. People have bank accounts and the Universal IDs are connected to their phones.
• In the month of December 2021, India did a transaction of 4 trillion rupees through Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Those from the banking sector here know how the developed countries in the world are trying to replicate the UPI system developed by India.

Data and Technology:

• The concept of Industry 4.0 has four main factors- Automation, Connectivity, Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning, and Real-Time Data. 
• In India, the cheapest data is available, connectivity and smartphones are also available in remote areas.
• India’s software engineers have been showcasing their potential to the world for years in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

Self-reliance:

• India is full of confidence, full of new energy along with possibilities. The Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign that India is running is also fully committed to global goods and the global supply chain. 
• India is on the path to becoming a self-reliant country. In the coming years, India will leave behind the economies such as China to become a World leader.

Challenges in India:

• Political resentment: India is a federal structure and the center and states work on many things together. Hence, sometimes the infrastructure projects or certain policies face political challenges such the clearance gets delayed, the deadlines are not met, etc.
• Rural development: Approximately, 60-70% population of India live in rural areas. Hence, a lot of rural infrastructure work has to be done by the government.

Measures to be taken:

• India has launched the Gati-Shakti Master Plan which is a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries including Railways and Roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. The Centre and states should work together efficiently to accelerate the pace of development.

Conclusion:

India is heading towards becoming a developed country and the long-term vision of India will help the country in this direction.

Read more Gist of AIR Spotlight here.

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