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Jaipur: Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on March 13 said India’s power is truly represented by its sustained economic growth, which is a key to its future and critical for security reasons.

Delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of ‘Militaria@Jaipur-2021’, he said as a fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic radical reforms were ushered in across a range of sectors and asserted that India has had the sharpest recovery among the major economies.

Economic Growth is expected to rebound about 5.5% after (-)3.5% in 2020 which has been the worst since post-World War, Kant said, adding that pushing India towards a high growth trajectory was a key challenge.

The private sector needs to be brought in at the heart of India’s economic growth, he said.

“The economies of east and southeast Asia have transformed themselves within a generation. India’s economy has witnessed a substantial transformation over 30 years since 1991 with an average annual growth of 6.5%. Sustained economic growth is key to India’s future. Investment and sustained economic growth are critical for security reasons.

Kant further said COVID-19 will likely reverse the trend of poverty alleviation.

“Global debt is at unprecedented levels. What was at about 300 per cent is now at around 370%. Global trade decline is estimated at 7% in 2020. China is the only major economy in the world to see positive GDP growth in 2020. Its share in global GDP will rise even further,” he said.

In the last two decades, China has gained tremendous market power in many key sectors like steel, aluminium and pharmaceuticals, Kant said.

“Size and scale need to be brought to the manufacturing sector for India to penetrate global markets. Self-reliant India is not about protectionism. It is about penetrating global markets.

There is a need to understand that sunrise sectors will lead India’s growth in the coming decades and it is important to start now, he said.

Earlier, former Home Secretary R Mehrishi said in the face of the recent China confrontation, “we used three elements — armed forces, trade measures and diplomacy — to face the challenge posed to us. All these elements require the backing of a strong economy.” In the era of technology, one has to be better and smartly equipped.

Technological competency will depend on the budget. India spends a little over 2 per cent on its defence that translates into Rs 5 lakh crore. Whereas, China spends 1.3% of its GDP which translates into Rs. 15 lakh crore, he said.

“At a time when the enemy is often not seen, the only way to really compete with a country like China would be to have as much or more equipment,” Mehrishi added.