Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that real growth was not possible without inclusiveness, and went on to list what he described as his government’s initiatives towards inclusive growth.

Speaking at the first Arun Jaitley Memorial lecture, Modi said: “I want to ask this question to all of you: Is real growth possible without inclusion? Can inclusion be thought of without growth?”

As examples of his government’s initiatives to promote inclusive growth, he cited the 9 crore free cooking gas connections it had given, 10 crore toilets it had helped build, and 45 crore bank accounts it had opened.

He said that before 2014, an average of 50 medical colleges used to be set up in 10 years while in the last seven to eight years, 209 new medical colleges had been established and the number of undergraduate medical seats increased by 75 per cent.

He said the government was treating the private sector as a partner in growth.

India is not undertaking reforms under compulsion but is doing so “by conviction” to prepare a roadmap for the next 25 years, Modi said, adding that reforms are a win-win choice.

Further, he said, India’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic was the result of the government adopting a people-centric policy rather than one based on populist impulses.

The Prime Minister paid tribute to the late Arun Jaitley, who was Union finance minister in the first Modi government and wore many hats – of lawyer, politician and cricket administrator. Jaitley died aged 66 in August 2019 after battling prolonged illness.