Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday threw an ambitious challenge to India Inc, asking why 50 Indian companies should not feature in the Fortune 500 over the coming decade and calling for Indian businesses to become global leaders across banking, pharmaceuticals, consulting, technology and other sectors.
Speaking from the Red Fort on Independence Day, PM Modi said India should not be satisfied with incremental gains but should set its sights on global leadership. “We often hear about the Fortune 500. Why shouldn’t 50 of those Fortune 500 companies be from India in the coming decade? Why shouldn’t this be our goal?” PM Modi said.
He said the banking sector was flourishing and asked why an Indian bank could not feature among the world’s top
five. “One of India’s banks should be among the top five banks in the world,” he said.
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The prime minister also set an ambitious target for the pharmaceutical industry, saying India must translate its existing strengths into global leadership. “India has done a lot of work in the pharmaceutical sector. But the need of the hour is that one of India’s pharmaceutical companies should be among the world’s five largest pharmaceutical companies. India must establish its place there,” he said.
PM Modi’s wishlist extended beyond traditional sectors. He said Indian law firms, rating agencies, consulting companies and accounting firms should aim for global leadership, while Indian technology companies should become world leaders.
“One of our consulting firms or accounting firms should be among the top firms in the world. Indian technology companies should be leaders in the world. This should be our goal,” Modi said.
He also called for Indian companies to build brands that could become synonymous with the country globally. “We should build such brands that attract the world. Our brands should become an identity of our country and make India a destination for the world,” he said.
PM Modi linked the challenge to the broader goal of making India a developed nation by 2047, arguing that achieving it would require faster reforms and closer cooperation between the Centre, states, local governments and industry. “We have to accelerate the pace of our reforms. We have to develop our systems in line with the goal of 2047,” he said, adding that India could not continue to be governed by “the policies and regulations of the past”.
The prime minister stressed that reforms should be driven by ambition rather than compulsion. “We are carrying out reforms not out of compulsion, but out of conviction. We are undertaking them to achieve our goal,” he said.
PM Modi also framed the challenge as a collective national project, saying India’s growth could not be driven by the government alone. “A nation is not just the government. A nation includes every citizen,” he said.
