Modi has high hopes from India

PM says nation doesn't need to emulate anyone.

NEW DELHI: INDIA does not need to emulate the model of any other country on the path to economic development because democracy and the entrepreneurial spirit of its 1.25 billion people are capable of driving growth at a fast pace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said.

"India does not need to become anything else. India must become only India. This is a country that once upon a time was called 'the golden bird'. We have fallen from where we were before. But now we have the chance to rise again," Modi said in an interview with CNN aired on Sunday.

"If you see the details of the last five or 10 centuries, you will see that India and China have grown at similar pace. Their contributions to global GDP have risen in parallel, and fallen in parallel. Today's era once again belongs to Asia. India and China are both growing rapidly, together. That is why India needs to remain India," he said, responding to a question about a perception among people that India will be the next China.

Modi made it clear that India would not compromise on its legacy of democracy to achieve faster economic growth. Asked specifically if he envied the power wielded by the Chinese government, Modi replied that a person like him may not have become the Prime Minister if there was no democracy.

"If China is one example, then democratic countries provide another example. They have also grown fast. You can't say that growth is not possible because of democracy. Democracy is our commitment. It is our great legacy, a legacy we simply cannot compromise," he said.

"If there were no democracy then someone like me, Modi, a child born in a poor family, how would he sit here? This is the strength of democracy." Modi said he had a roadmap to channel the "unlimited talent" of Indians.

"I have no doubt about our capabilities. I have a lot of faith in the entrepreneurial nature of our 1.25 billion people. There is a lot of capability," he said.

During the interview, his first since he became the PM, Modi indicated that he believed China would not allow its territorial disputes with countries like the Philippines and Vietnam to escalate. "Look at how it (China) has focused on economic development. It's hardly the sign of a country that wants to be isolated. It wants to stay connected. That is why we should have trust China's understanding and have faith that it would accept global laws and will play its role in cooperating and moving forward," he said.

Asked if he worried about China's behaviour towards its neighbours, Modi replied: "India is different. It is a country of 1.25 billion people. We can't run our country if we get worried about every small thing. At the same time, we can't close our eyes to problems."

Responding to a query on Russia's annexation of the Crimea, he said India's viewpoint is that "efforts need to be made to sit together and talk, and to resolve problems in an ongoing process".

On the issue of discrimination and violence against women, Modi said the dignity of women is a "collective responsibility" on which there could be no compromise.

"We have to revive the family culture in which a woman is respected and considered equal, her dignity encouraged. The main thing here is girl child education. By doing so, the possibility of empowerment will increase," he said.

Asked what he did in his spare time, Modi replied: "Look, I'm not the 'not- working' type. I derive pleasure from my work. Work gives me relaxation too. Every moment I am thinking of something new: making a new plan, new ways to work."

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