NEW DELHI: India is the only big economy which has been clocking high growth and moderate inflation, while most others are either battling high inflation or slow growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

       “Inflation has affected the entire world - the US has the highest inflation in 40 years, Britain in 30 years, and countries with euro as their currency faced unprecedented inflation"

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       Hitting out at the Opposition, PM Modi said during 2015-2020, the rate of inflation was 4-5% but under the United Progressive Alliance government, India witnessed double-digit inflation.

       On steps taken to strengthen MSMEs, PM Modi said that his government will only float domestic tenders for projects worth up to ？200 crore.

       “In Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, defence corridors are being built. The way MSMEs are joining the defence sector is very motivating. They're coming forward and taking the lead. MSMEs have been connected to GeM and it has increased government procurement seamlessly, “ he further said.

       Prior to the budget, the government deployed ？64,000 crore among states for critical health infrastructure. "We did not want to highlight it in the Budget and took the step as per needs. Announcing it along with the Budget would have made the Budget look even better, but we choose to do it earlier," PM Modi added.

       On employment, PM Modi said hiring has risen two-fold compared to pre-pandemic levels, after the lifting of lockdowns.

       “1.2 crore new members were enrolled with EPFO during 2021, including 65 lakh in the 18-25 age group. This same trend has been highlighted in a NASSCOM report. Nearly 27 lakh people have got jobs in the IT sector in recent years, a new high," he added.

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       The youth has helped India feature among the top three countries in terms of startups, PM Modi said. From CoP26 to G20 to the social sector to aiding 150 countries across the world during the pandemic, India has been leading by example, he said.

       Condemning the Congress party's rule over the years, the prime minister said Majrooh Sultanpuri and Prof Dharampal were jailed for criticising Jawaharlal Nehru. Kishore Kumar did not bow to Indira Gandhi during the Emergency and he was banned from singing on the radio.

       Modi said "some Members asked- if there was no Congress, what would happen?" “I would like to say, if there was no Congress there would be no Emergency, there would be no caste politics, Sikhs would never have been massacred, the problems of Kashmiri Pandits would not have happened," he said.

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