Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday exhorted the private sector to bet big on research and development and focus less on protecting margins.Stressing a growing role of the private industry in India’s economic growth, Modi, in an interview with PTI today, said the next leap to Viksit Bharat would depend on bold investment by the private sector in innovation, long-term capacity and global competitiveness.“The private sector is critical for the next phase of economic transformation and hence there is a need for a decisive response from them. The private sector must focus less on protecting margins and invest aggressively in the R&D supply chain quality,” the PM said, adding that as “productivity rises, private sector owners must also share gains fairly with workers”.Commenting on the nine free trade agreements the government had signed with 38 countries, including the EU bloc, the PM said the BJP-led NDA government had negotiated with everyone from a position of strength and confidence.He said during the Congress-led UPA rule, talks would begin and then break down and little real substance was achieved despite long negotiations.“UPA-era economic mismanagement had left India unable to negotiate from a position of confidence. Our FTAs are designed to expand market access for MSMEs in textiles, leather, chemicals, handicrafts, gems and other sectors,” PM Modi said amid criticism of the Indo-US trade deal by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.The PM, meanwhile, attributed India’s negotiation confidence to stronger manufacturing, services and MSMEs.As next steps, the PM said his government’s “Reform Express” was benefiting common citizens in a big way and his top three reform priorities for the next decade would be continued structural reforms, deepening innovation and further simplification of governance.Noting that by temperament, he was never satisfied and believed that public life demanded a certain constructive restlessness and urge to do more, the PM said the governance direction was clear and reforms would continue to be in focus.The PM hailed the Union Budget 2026 as a mirror of the government’s policy of productive spending and said the Budget “deliberately avoided short-term populism and instead channelled record capital outlays into infrastructure to drive jobs and sustainable growth”.“This year’s Budget was not a ‘now or never moment’ born out of compulsion but a ‘we are ready moment’ born out of preparation and inspiration,” Modi said, asserting that it reflected India’s “yearning” to become a developed nation.The PM added that none of his government’s budgets had been drafted with the attitude of creating a run-of-the-mill “bahi khata” documents and pledged to ensure that women remained the core of policy-making, besides assuming a greater role in leadership.
