Need to brand India as 'responsible capitalist country': FM Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday called for reimagining economic systems and branding India "as a responsible capitalist country" that takes care of its people and whose institutions are growing from strength to strength.

India's capitalism, she said, is distinct from that of many others which have resorted to expansionism, aggression, coercion or exploitation in their pursuit of greater economic gains.

Sitharaman was speaking at the India Ideas Conclave 2024, organised by the India Foundation in Bengaluru.


She said India doesn't weaponise public goods, be it vaccine or money transferring mechanism; it doesn't exploit human or natural resources nor does it subject neighbours to misery for its own vested economic interests.

The Indian economic growth model has been rooted in LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), the finance minister said, referring to the acronym coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that essentially calls for living more sustainably and reducing the harmful effects of climate change. Sustainability has been part of the Indian ethos for centuries, she said.

A 'Bharat FDA'
Sitharaman pitched for a 'Bharat Food and Drug Administration' (FDA) in pharmaceuticals, similar to the US FDA, while reiterating calls to the industry in general to focus on high quality products.

"Brand Bharat should speak for excellence in science... which would stand both for technical quality and ethical quality," she said.

The minister cited the domestic "quick commerce ecosystem" to stress that India can be promoted globally as a "destination of innovative solutions to modern urban needs", given the growing innovation prowess of its businesses, especially startups.

Quick commerce players promise to deliver goods within 10-30 minutes.

At the same time, she said, all possible support needs to be extended to the bricks-and-mortar stores to pursue their growth as well.