Talking about the need for rapid transformation of the economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said there is a need to change laws, eliminate unnecessary procedures and speed up processes.

“We cannot march through the 21st century with the administrative systems of the nineteenth century,” he said at the Transforming India lecture, which was organised by the NITI Aayog.

Enunciating his vision for the country, the Prime Minister said that it would involve transformation of governance and mindsets as well as transformative ideas. Further, it would require rapid transformation and not gradual evolution.

He further said that the change is needed both for external and internal reasons.

Inter-dependent

“Today, countries are inter-dependent and inter-connected. No country can afford any longer to develop in isolation,” he said, adding that every country has to benchmark its activities to global standards, or else fall behind.

Change is also necessary for internal reasons, he said, noting that the younger generation’s thinking and aspirations are so different that the government can no longer afford to remain rooted in the past.

Modi also called for collective brainstorming to ensure that the country as a collective force “convert ideas into action” and get the best of global perspectives.

“What we need is a collective opening of our minds, to let in new, global perspectives. To do this, we have to absorb new ideas collectively rather than individually. It requires a concerted effort,” he said.

The first, in the series of lectures was addressed by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore. Listing various steps to get ideas from the inside such as discussions with bankers and Secretary level officials, the Prime Minister said that the government’s next efforts are now to “tap ideas from outside”.

He accordingly requested Secretaries to conduct a follow up discussion on the lecture after a week with the participants from their ministries to get names of experts.

“The purpose is to convert ideas that emerge in today’s session into specific action points relevant to each group,” he said, adding that he would also request Ministers to participate in the sessions.

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