NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dared India to dream big as he laid out details of his grand economic and development vision for the country for the first time. Heralding the dawn of a New Age India, he said the country was making the transition from a “winter of subdued achievement” to a “new spring”.“India is a $2-trillion economy today. Can we not dream of an India with a $20-trillion economy?” the prime minister asked at the ET Global Business Summit on Friday in an address that detailed the Narendra Modi doctrine of development in a comprehensive manner, each element segueing into the next. “The government must nurture an ecosystem where the economy is primed for growth; and growth promotes all-round development.Where development is employment-generating; and employment is enabled by skills. Where skills are synced with production; and production is benchmarked to quality. Where quality meets global standards; and meeting global standards drives prosperity. Most importantly, this prosperity is for the welfare of all. That is my concept of economic good governance and allround development.”Driving the prime minister’s vision is his desire for the uplift of all Indians, especially the poorest. Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, he said: “Elimination of poverty is fundamental to me. This is at the core of my understanding of cohesive growth.” He acknowledged that the task won’t be easy.“Quick and easy reforms will not be enough for creating a fast-growing economy. That is our challenge and that is what we aim to do,” he said. “It will take hard work, sustained commitment and strong administrative action. But we can overcome the mood of despair,” he said, referring to growth that slumped below 5% to decadal lows in the past two fiscal years.Modi became prime minister in May last year after leading BJP to an overwhelming general election victory. Since then the government has kicked off policy changes — and more are to follow — as it seeks to revive growth, lift investment sentiment, generate jobs, make India a manufacturing hub, improve governance and promote financial inclusion as part of the reforms agenda.The PM headlined a star-studded roster of 700 speakers and guests at the ET Global Business Summit at the Durbar Hall of Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi. Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, free-trade guru Jagdish Bhagwati and Black Swan author Nassim Nicholas Taleb were among those in the audience. The event that kicked off on Friday will feature a full programme on Saturday.The audience included the cream of Indian business, as the prime minister touched upon the economy, development, governance, reforms and other areas.The PM also made it clear that he doesn’t see the ET Global Business Summit as just a meeting of great minds, but also a conclave that will generate ideas and help the government draw up an agenda for New Age India.“Over the next two days, you will debate growth and inflation, manufacturing and infrastructure, missed chances and unlimited possibilities,” he said, after having complimented ET for organising the event. “You will see India as a country of opportunities, unmatched across the world. I assure you that your inputs shall receive my government’s highest attention.”That the government is eager for and open to ideas was clear from the number of ministers in attendance, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, taking precious time off from drawing up a budget that’s expected to contain an array of policy changes to be unveiled at the end of next month.Modi spoke about the twin missions of reforms and revival and how the government is looking to achieve them. These include strict fiscal discipline, petroleum and energy sector reforms, curbing inflation, getting the goods & services tax (GST) in place, financial inclusion, making India more attractive as an investment destination and giving infrastructure a boost besides “transparency and efficiency in governance, and institutional reforms”.He said FM Jaitley has referred to GST as one of independent India’s biggest reforms and getting the states to agree to the proposed levy should be seen in that context. Modi made the point that “reforms must have a concrete objective… the welfare of the people”.The prime minister said financial unity had never been debated in the way it should have been. “This is one cause which both capitalists and socialists agree on. What, my friends, can be a bigger reform?” Following the successful rollout of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, “We are today a nearly 100% banked country”, a feat that has been achieved through a concerted effort in just four months.He also announced a “massive national programme” for computerisation of the public distribution system (PDS), which has the potential to revolutionise India’s most important social welfare programme. “The entire PDS supply chain, from the FCI (Food Corporation of India) godown to the ration shop and consumer will be computerised.Technology will drive welfare and efficient food delivery.” The prime minister also staked out a clear position on social unity. Many countries have become richer but are poor, he said, because “family systems, value systems, social networks and other elements which hold a society together have broken. We should not go down that path. We need a society and economy which complement each other. That is the only way for a nation to go forward”.He reiterated the social imperatives behind economic development, which by itself can’t take a nation forward. “We need to take care of the poor, deprived and leftbehind sections of society. I believe that subsidies are needed for them. What we need is a well-targeted system of subsidy delivery. We need to cut leakages, not subsidies themselves.”In this context, he said direct cash transfers will soon be introduced in other benefit schemes. He also said that “development has to result in jobs”. Also, development is not just the government’s business but “everyone’s agenda. It should be a people’s movement”. He referred to his theme of “minimum government, maximum governance”, saying it was not a mere slogan but would play a critical role in the transformation of India. “Government systems suffer from two weaknesses — they are complex and they are slow,” he said.“We need to change this. Our systems need to be made sharp, effective, fast and flexible. This requires simplification of processes and having trust in citizens. This needs a policy-driven state.”Minimum government and maximum governance also means “government has no business to be in business. There are many parts of the economy where the private sector will do better and deliver better”.But the state’s presence is essential in important areas: Public goods such as defence, police, judiciary; externalities such as pollution that need to be regulated; market power, where monopolies need to be controlled; information gaps, such as making sure drugs are genuine; and a “well-designed welfare and subsidy mechanism” to function as a safety net for the disadvantaged. The prime minister said there is no contradiction between big projects and small ones.He also referred to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and likened it to the Independence movement’s Satyagraha movement. He said this Clean India movement should be known as Swachhagraha and those at the forefront of this were Swachhagrahis.The NITI Aayog, which has replaced the Planning Commission, has been created in the spirit of cooperative federalism and will create “trust and partnership” between the Centre and the states, underscored by competitive zeal, he said.He also cited the Clean Ganga project and measures to develop the railways, agriculture and tourism as important initiatives, along with the Digital India and Skill India programmes. He also referred to the challenges of terrorism and climate change and said India would play its role in seeking to face them. In conclusion, the prime minister cited Swami Vivekananda: “Arise, awake, do not stop until the goal has been attained.”