PM Modi talks climate change, sustainable energy and 'Invest in India' at economic summit

In a virtual address during the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the dangers of an excessively consumerist society and also laid out aims of India being a net-zero emissions country by 2070, also emphasising on the country's efforts to safeguard democracy.

Stating that India was holding a 'bouquet of hope' to the world, the PM highlighted the growth of over 60,000 startups in the country which was a great incitement for investors in his opening speech which followed that of Chinese Premier Xi Xinping.

"In 2014, there were maybe a hundred registered startups in India. Now, the number has crossed 60 thousand. We also have more than 80 unicorns now, more than 40 of them achieved that status just last year," he said. India had the third-highest number of Unicorns in the country, the PM said.

The country had long-term goals stretching almost 25 years into the future, the PM added. This was bolstered by attempts to induce ease of business for investors such as devloping a solid network of cashless transaction technology like Unified Payment Interface (UPI) which saw 4.4 billion transactions last month alone.

The development of Aarogya Setu and CoWIN were also praised. PM Gathashakti was mentioned as a way to monitor and guide infrastructure development to "seamlessly connect goods, services and people".

He stressed the need for "sustainable" growth, while pointing out India's commitment to climate change and various initiatives the government is taking for a green and sustainable future. PM Modi spoke at length about a change in lifestyle to be more climate-conscious and said that "throw away culture" and consumerism has deepened the climate crisis.

The focus of India was on the "P3" plan which stood for Pro-Planet People and it was 10% focused on sustainable development, he opined.

The WEF has said 'Davos Agenda 2022' will be the first global platform for key world leaders to share their visions for 2022 and it is being convened on the theme of 'The State of the World'. A special session on vaccine equity will be held on Tuesday which will be attended by World Health Organisation head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Serum Institute of India head Adar Poonawala.

Pandemic issues, technology, security and humanitarian investing to build economies are the subjects of this year's agenda.