Modi 'very focused' on delivery, bringing 'hundreds of millions' into formal economy: Canada PM

Sydney (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “very focused” on delivery of welfare programmes to the common people and has been successful in bringing “hundreds of millions” of them into the formal economy through “financial reforms” in India, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said.

Carney was speaking on Wednesday during an interaction at the Lowy Institute, Australia's leading think tank, where he was asked to speak about his assessment of Prime Minister Modi, days after the two leaders met in New Delhi.

The Canadian prime minister was in India from February 27 to March 2, during which India and Canada sealed key pacts on supplies of Uranium and critical minerals and agreed to conclude a comprehensive economic partnership agreement soon.

“... just on a personal level the impressions which is, he is a person who is very... and I have known this from before, but it is interesting just the interaction over time... very focused on delivery to, I would say, the rural household,” he said and invoked a French phrase to say, “to the person on the street.”

“So a huge motivation for the financial reform transformations, the payment system transformation, the UPI and other things... was to get money directly to individuals without leakage... shall we say, in the system in real time, and to bring people, hundreds of millions of people, into the formal economy,” Carney said.

Modi has been successful in delivery of welfare programmes to the common people despite challenges, he said.

“He (Modi) is very focused on that aspect of delivery. So here he is... up at this global level operating, India rising much, I mean challenges, but much much positive, but a leader who keeps bringing it back down to that level.

“So there is much, too much to see there,” he said.

PM Carney also said Prime Minister Modi has not taken a day off in the last 25 years ever since he first became chief minister of Gujarat in 2001 and then prime minister of India in 2014.

“Well, I mean, there is... look the guy is, he is unique. I would say, 25 years... this 25 years and he has not taken a day off,” he said.

Carney said every weekend Modi is out “campaigning” where “2,50,000 people attend his rallies.”

The Canadian Prime Minister also highlighted India's “non-aligned” position in global affairs.

“Their attitude would be, well what took you so long to figure that out? I mean, we have been non-aligned since we gained Independence in 1947. And then and so it is in that regard, we found the discussions around the areas where we could cooperate in a collaborative way and why that was in our, both of our, not just economic issues but strategic interests. Straight, I mean straightforward absolutely...,” he said.