'Reform to transform a marathon, not sprint,' says Narendra Modi at Delhi Economics Conclave

The theme of the conclave this year is Realising India's Jan-Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile vision

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Delhi Economics Conclave in the national capital on Friday.

The theme of the conclave this year is Realising India's Jan-Dhan, Aadhar, Mobile vision.

Here are the highlights of the speech:

We must reform to transform

Reform to transform is a marathon not a sprint

By almost every major economic indicator, India is doing better than when we took office 17 months ago

GDP growth is up & inflation is down, foreign investment is up, current account deficit is down

Revenues are up and interest rates are down, fiscal deficit is down and rupee is stable

Financial inclusion reform has been transformational, Jan-Dhan transformed ability of poor to make & receive electronic payments

Reform is that which helps all citizens and especially the poor achieve a better life. It is Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas

Believe it or not, accounts opened under Jan-Dhan yojana today have a total balance of almost Rs 26000 crores

World economy is not exactly doing well. This success (of India) is reason of a series of well thought policies

India has (great) entrepreneurial energy. This needs to be harnessed so that we become a nation of job-creators rather than job seekers

Another financial reform is the provision of a safety net through new social security schemes

Major steps have been taken to improve efficiency including clear performance measures and accountability mechanisms

Our financial inclusion reform has been transformational, Jan-Dhan also transformed ability of poor to make & receive electronic payments

Agriculture remains India's mainstream in terms of providing livelihood. We have introduced series of reforms

We are now moving towards universal neem coating of urea

Oil health card tells every farmer condition of soil,enables them to choose right quantity of inputs,greatly reduces wastage of inputs

We have introduced a Universal Account Number which will remain with an employee even when he changes jobs (On labour reforms)

We have undertaken major managerial improvements in the transport sector

This is the first time that the Prime Minister will be inaugurating the Delhi Economics Conclave ever since it began in 2010.

The day-long conclave will deliberate on topics like India and international experience in cash transfers, benefits and risks of biometric authentication-evidence from social programs in India, Financial Inclusion and Direct Benefit Transfer scheme.

The conclave will be attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian and Niti Ayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, among others.