New Delhi | India has showed that there is no irreconcilable trade-off between growth and distributive justice, and the government is making all efforts to further boost the country's position as a growth engine, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.
In an address at the annual general meeting of FICCI, Singh said India, as the fastest growing major economy in the world, has now reached a position to trigger a "positive impact" on the growth of other countries.
"India showed that there is no irreconcilable trade-off between growth and distributive justice. That means providing fair opportunities to all citizens and accelerating the growth rate and both can be achieved simultaneously," he said.
"The government is making all efforts to further strengthen India's position as a growth engine. But you know that the government cannot do this work alone. For that we also need the support of the wealth creators and thought leaders of this country," he told the industry captains.
Singh said there the industry leaders have a "special responsibility" to help the government write the next chapter of the "Indian growth story".
"If India is the growth engine of the global economy then all of you wealth creators and thought leaders are the motor of that growth engine," he said.
"Therefore, there is a special responsibility on all of you to help the government write the next chapter of the Indian growth story by integrating the needs of everyone from the engine to the last coach," Singh added.
He also referred to the government's focus on infrastructure development, especially to expand connectivity.
"The way we have done infrastructure development in far-flung areas in India, the way we have laid a network of connectivity under the PM Gati Shakti Yojana -- be it the remote North-East or small cities or towns, we have connected everyone," he said.
"Moving on from the growth pole, I would like to call this the growth web," he noted.
The defence minister said the government is investing at the bottom of the pyramid.
"Be it the farmers of the country, tribals or street vendors, or 'Vishwakarma brothers' -- by implementing schemes for these people, we have ensured that we also pay attention to the bottom of the pyramid," he noted.
The defence minister also highlighted induction of women in various positions in the three services.
"If I talk about the defence sector, you see that we started the admission of girls in Sainik School. Women officers of Army, Air Force and Navy are also training in National Defence Academy," he said.
"Women pilots are being appointed in fighter aircraft in the Air Force. Today women are working on big posts in the Army also. A large number of our girls are joining the armies through the Agniveer scheme," he said.
Singh also spoke about the government's priority on human resources development.
"The most important resource of any country is its human resource. Under human resource upgradation, the work done by the government in the last decade or so to promote education and health is amazing," he said.
"The longevity of our citizens has increased; Infant and maternal mortality rates have decreased; The per capita income of our citizens has increased, their lives and their living standards have improved," he noted.