New Delhi, September 11
Union Minister for Communications and Development Jyotiraditya Scindia expressed confidence that India is on track to establish at least three international business hubs within the next decade, underscoring India's rapid growth across key sectors.
As Aviation Minister in Modi 2.0, Scindia emphasised, "I am confident that in the next decade, you will see not one international hub in India, but at least three international hubs being created in India."
Scindia, alongside Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce, Industry, Electronics, and IT, addressed the 51st National Management Convention on the theme "India's Ascent: Navigating Global Uncertainty" in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Scindia said, "India today is the second largest producer of mobile phones in the world. We have tripled the number of kilometres that we build of highways per day from 11 to 33 kilometres. In my past portfolio, going from 74 airports in India in 2014 to 159 airports at the last count in 2024."
He added, "The fact that we have Delhi today as the second largest capacity airport in the world at 109 million. We need to move the international business hubs for air traffic from our eastern and western neighbours back into India."
In terms of social development, Scindia pointed out India's successful poverty alleviation efforts, stating, When you look at social development, the fact that we have raised 25 crore of our people, our brothers and sisters, from poverty. Public health, what could not have been dreamt of before."
He added, "Under the Ayushman Kaur Yojana, 28 and a half crore people today have health insurance cover of up to five lakh rupees per annum. Something that we could not comprehend."
Uplifting women through the Ujjwala Yojana has also been a priority, with 10 crore women receiving free LPG connections, improving household energy access.
He said, "10 crores of our sisters and mothers who are covered under Ujjwala Yojana. And all of this has not happened in 75 years. All of this in the last one decade of India's progress. If you look at the number of broadband users in our country, from 60 million, we have gone to 940 million."
He added, "If you look at the number of kilometres of optical fiber cable that have been laid out, 30 lakh kilometers of OFC fiber cable have been laid out in the last decade alone. We have grown to 119 crore mobile subscribers."
Scindia also showcased the digital revolution in India, noting, "Internet connectivity growing from 25 crore to 94 crore. At the same time, the cost of voice dropping from 50 paise to 3 paise per minute today. The cost of data per GB dropping from 280 rupees to 12.8 rupees today, a 95 per cent drop in cost."
He added, "That is the transformation that India has undergone. The India Post Payments Bank, established only seven years ago. We have seamlessly, transferred 45,000 crores worth of dues directly to customers through DBT. Today, UPI has become a part of our lives. India transacts 46 per cent of the world's digital transactions."