Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the BJP’s Zila Panchayat members’ conference through video conferencing on Friday. In his address, he mentioned that India is making remarkable progress towards achieving equitable and collective prosperity. He referred to two research pieces by SBI Research and journalist Anil Padmanabhan, which highlighted India’s economic progress. The reports showed that the weighted mean income in India has increased from Rs 4.4 lakh in AY 14 to Rs 13 lakh in FY 23. Modi emphasized that these findings reflect India’s collective efforts and its potential as a nation.
Modi also mentioned his goal of making India a developed country by 2047, which he had unveiled in his 2022 Independence Day speech. He reiterated that this goal is within reach and highlighted the need to address issues like corruption and dynastic politics. He further discussed Padmanabhan’s study of income tax return data, which revealed a widening tax base across income brackets. Each income bracket has seen a minimum threefold increase in tax filings, with some even achieving a nearly fourfold surge.
The research also highlighted positive performance in terms of increased income tax filings across states. For example, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as one of the top-performing states with a significant increase in ITR filings from 1.65 lakh in June 2014 to 11.92 lakh in June 2023. Smaller states like Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland from the northeast have also shown admirable growth in ITR filings over the past nine years.
Modi concluded by stating that not only have incomes risen, but compliance has also increased. He attributed this to the trust people have in the government. Overall, he expressed optimism about India’s economic prosperity and its potential for future development.
