Ahmedabad: India has emerged as the world’s fourth-largest economy, up from the 11th position it held when Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah said in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Shah was speaking at the RV Patel Pharminova Awards 2026 ceremony organised by Troikaa Pharmaceuticals Ltd at Sindhu Bhavan.
He said India’s progress over the past decade demonstrated the importance of setting clear goals and making sustained efforts to achieve them.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had set a clear vision for India for 2047, when the country will mark 100 years of Independence. During the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, citizens, particularly the youth, had been encouraged to study the history of the freedom struggle, understand India’s progress since Independence and assess the country’s position in the world,” he noted.
He said the objective is to build an India that is secure, educated and cultured; preserve its values while developing economically; and attain a leading position in the global economy.
“The capacity to achieve this goal exists within India,” Shah said, adding that the country needed to channel the strength and talent of its youth in the right direction, frame policies suited to changing requirements and ensure their effective implementation.
“India has undergone extensive changes in its policies, regulations, mindset and working methods since 2014. Companies from across the world are now keen to invest in the country, while India is strengthening its position as a manufacturing hub,” he said.
Shah pointed to initiatives including bulk drug parks, medical device parks and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme as part of efforts to create a world-class manufacturing ecosystem.
He said these initiatives would also help reduce dependence on China in the global pharmaceutical supply chain. “Around Rs 67,000 crore of investment had been encouraged in the pharmaceutical sector, and India had made significant progress in drug exports,” he noted.
Shah described the pharmaceutical sector as more than an industry, calling it a national strategic asset that reflected India’s tradition, talent and research capabilities.
“The Indian pharma sector is no longer merely an industry, but a national strategic asset of India. It is a reflection of India’s tradition, talent and research capabilities,” he said.
Paying tribute to the late Rajnibhai, Shah said he understood the essence of the pharmaceutical business and worked to take a step forward.
“Sustained research, scientific capability, entrepreneurship and appropriate policy would be important to India’s ambition of becoming a developed and leading nation by 2047,” he added.
(IANS)
