'Ever since this election concluded, aspirations have risen... political stability in itself is a big message. By deciding for stability, the people of India have laid the foundation for development.'
Giving credit to India's youth for bringing about a 'change' in the course of Indian politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there is a new wave of aspiration in the country after the change of government.
'Earlier, there was a habit in our country to keep small groups happy. Divide in small groups and keep your vote-bank intact. This has changed now. The thinking of the young generation of India has changed. The young generation of the country does not want to live in parts. The change has come due to the youth,' Modi told the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, September 29.
Recalling that his Bharatiya Janata Party had fought the Lok Sabha election on the planks of development and good governance which are difficult to pursue in the existing political discourse dominated by vote-bank politics, he said these are the only answer to all of India's problems.
Asserting that he wants to create opportunities for a neo-middle class to accelerate development, Modi said his government plans to focus on achieving a balance between agriculture, manufacturing and services to achieve growth.
There is, the prime minister said, a large number of people, who have gone above the poverty line but are yet to find a place among the middle class.
'If we ignore our neo-middle class and they again slide back into poverty, then the poor will lose hope of coming out of poverty,' he said.
A single party, Modi said, has formed a government after 30 years in India and this is the first time that somebody born in independent India has got an opportunity to become prime minister.
Modi credited India's democratic set-up for making a person of humble origin like him occupy the country's top-most position.
'The youth of India have so far seen instability and disappointment,' the prime minister said. 'Ever since this (election) concluded, aspirations have risen... political stability in itself is a big message. By deciding for stability, the people of India have laid the foundation for development,' he added.
Defining good governance as minimum government and maximum governance, he said that the large number of rules and a mammoth hierarchy had become a problem in itself.
Modi, who on Sunday used the metaphor of the cost of travel by an autorickshaw in Ahmedabad to compare the expenditure incurred on India's landmark Mars Orbiter Mission, on Monday evoked the imagery of a Hollywood film in the same context.
'The Mars Mission completed its distance of 650 million km in an expenditure less than what is incurred on making a Hollywood film,' he said.
His government's 'Make in India' programme, Modi said, is moving ahead with its focus on skill development.
Laying emphasis on skill development, he said the priority is how to make people job creators through setting up small industries.
His government, the prime minister said, has carried out labour reforms, which were not considered politically correct, but were badly needed.
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