ET Awards: Without PM Modi's confidence, trust, and the opportunity that he has given, it wouldn't have been possible to be here on this stage, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Successfully carrying out reforms across sectors like telecom and railways to boost the country's growth required support from all quarters of government, said Ashwini Vaishnaw, union minister for railways, IT and electronics, and information and broadcasting.

He was speaking at The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence on Saturday, where he received the Business Reformer of the Year award.

Vaishnaw thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the platform to carry out reforms. "Without his confidence, without his trust, without the opportunity that he has given, it wouldn't have been possible to be here on this stage and to be able to contribute to the country's growth," he said.


He added that reforms would also not have been possible without the support of finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who was chief guest at the event. "Your support on the telecom reforms was phenomenal. The way you led us, the way you guided us into the new construction of railway stations, whether it is manufacturing railway rolling stock at such a large scale, each and every step you have been a big, big source of strength," said Vaishnaw.


He also highlighted the sacrifices of his family. "When the prime minister gave me this responsibility, the first thing that my family members told me was that we are not going to shift to the official accommodation in Delhi because this is a rare opportunity the prime minister has given you, so give your 100% to the country and don't even think of us," Vaishnaw recollected.