New Delhi, February 15 With the government having made significant progress through aggressive capital expenditure in recent years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that it is now the time for the private sector to step up, invest boldly, and drive the next phase of innovation-led, globally-competitive growth.
In an exclusive interview with PTI, Modi said his government has used its time in office to address the "structural gaps left by previous administrations," pursue bold reforms, and lay the foundation for a developed India.
Asserting that the recently unveiled annual budget marks the "next level" of this journey, he said the FY27 Budget sharply increases capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore – a five-fold increase compared to 2013 – reinforcing the government's strategy of prioritizing infrastructure creation, logistics expansion, and investment in sunrise sectors to drive long-term growth.
It emphasizes spending on rail, roads, digital, and energy infrastructure, alongside measures to ease compliance and improve credit flow as the central lever for job creation and economic momentum, the prime minister said.
"However, I want to use this opportunity to make a request to the dynamic private corporate sector. Policy can only create the enabling framework. The next phase of transformation requires a decisive response from the private sector," he said in the written interview.
"Indian firms must invest more aggressively in research and development, adopt frontier technologies, deepen supply-chain capabilities, and compete on quality and productivity rather than on protected margins," Modi added.
The prime minister went on to state that incentives and tariff preferences can catalyze growth, but durable competitiveness must rest on innovation, efficiency, and scale.
Over the last 10 years, the government has anchored India's growth strategy around record capital expenditure, sharply increasing spending on highways, railways, ports, airports, digital infrastructure, and energy networks to attract private investment and boost medium-term productivity. However, the private sector is yet to fully unleash this "animal spirit."
Modi called on India's private corporate sector to step up and match the government's reform push with bold investments and innovation-led growth.
He stressed that the benefits of higher productivity must be widely shared to ensure durable and socially-legitimate growth.
"Similarly, as productivity rises, the gains must be shared fairly between workers, shareholders, and owner-managers. Sustainable growth requires social legitimacy. Rising real wages, skill upgrading, and stable employment reinforce domestic demand and social cohesion, which, in turn, support long-term investment," he said.
The State has focused on infrastructure, macro stability, regulatory reforms, and trade access, the prime minister asserted.
"The next leap toward Viksit Bharat by 2047 will depend on how boldly Indian enterprises invest in innovation, build long-term capacity, and position themselves as a globally-competitive, technologically-confident, and socially-responsible engine of growth," he said.
