We invite world’s data to reside in India: PM Modi ahead of AI Impact Summit 2026

In the interview, Modi spoke at length about the Union Budget, asserting that none of his government’s budgets has been made with an attitude of creating run-of-the-mill “bahi khata” documents, as “that is not our approach.”

Recalling that a few years ago he had declared from the Red Fort that “Yahi Samay Hai, Sahi Samay Hai”, Modi said this “now-is-the-time” sense of purpose has been the driving force for his government.

“Today, that sense of urgency has become a national conviction, a whole-of-society resolve. There is a new confidence in our nation,” he said, adding, “Our national character has revealed itself even in times of different kinds of challenges and we are a bright spot of growth even in difficult global circumstances.”

Speaking on the government’s focus on defence modernisation, Modi said that since Day One, his government has been clear — it will do whatever it takes to support the country’s defence forces and strengthen them.

Citing the allocation of Rs 7.85 lakh crore to defence in the Union Budget, Modi said the outlay is 15 per cent higher than the previous Budget and is also the “biggest chunk” given to any ministry or department.

Referring to Operation Sindoor, the Prime Minister said the entire country is proud of the courage shown by the armed forces. “During the operation, one could see the benefits of the reforms we have undertaken in the last decade. Therefore, defence budgets, modernisation, etc, all these are parts of our continuous effort and need not be linked to any particular issue,” he said, adding, “the country has to be strong and prepared at all times, and that is what we are doing.”

Calling productive spending a hallmark of his government, Modi said the Union Budget deliberately avoided short-term populism and instead channeled record capital outlays into infrastructure — to drive jobs and sustainable growth. He also said that with the government having done much of the heavy-lifting through an aggressive capex push in recent years, it is now time for the private sector to step up, invest boldly and drive the next phase of innovation-led, globally-competitive growth.

“Policy can only create the enabling framework. The next phase of transformation requires a decisive response from the private sector,” he said in the interview. “Indian firms must invest more aggressively in research and development, adopt frontier technologies, deepen supply-chain capabilities and compete on quality and productivity rather than on protected margins,” he added.

For a long time, Modi said, high-quality infrastructure had been neglected, posing a challenge for the people and businesses. “Broken and outdated infrastructure has no place in a nation that aspires to be Viksit Bharat,” he stressed.

“We revolutionised the sector with our speed, scale and focus on creating next-generation infrastructure, while upgrading the existing infrastructure. In the last decade or so, India has seen perhaps the most expansive infrastructure-building effort in our history… with the future in mind,” he said.

Illustrating the scale of expansion, Modi said the number of airports has doubled and orders for thousands of aircraft have been placed; number of cities with metro services has more than quadrupled; rural roads and internet connectivity are expanding rapidly; and major investments made in freight corridors, ports and coastal connectivity.

On the recently-concluded trade deals, Modi said that many countries are now seeing the benefits of pursuing business agreements with India — a confident, competitive and fast-growing economy.

“To understand the difference between the earlier approach and ours, consider the EU trade agreement. It was discussed and negotiated even under the previous government. But it was our government which eventually sealed a win-win deal for our economies,” he said, adding, “We are entering into these historic trade deals from a position of strength.”

The Prime Minister had high praise for Nirmala Sitharaman, who, on February 1, became the only Union Finance Minister to present nine consecutive budgets. “It is a matter of national pride that our Finance Minister, Nirmala-ji, has presented the Budget nine consecutive times… several women across India feel inspired by this.”