Reform Process Bound to Face Resistance: PM Modi

Brisbane: As he seeks to accelerate his economic reform drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the reform process is bound to face resistance and that he wanted it to be insulated from political pressures.

Making a strong pitch for economic reforms, PM Modi told fellow G20 leaders at a Retreat here that reforms should lead to simplification of processes and that methods of governance must be reformed.

The retreat was hosted by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the Queensland Parliament House where the leaders met without aides shortly before the annual summit of the 20 industrialised and major economies kicked off at the Brisbane Convention Centre in the afternoon.

A barbeque lunch was served to the G20 leaders.

"Reform is bound to face resistance...must be insulated from political pressures," Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister also made it clear that reform has to be driven by the people and that it cannot be undertaken by "stealth".

Asserting that reform must be people-centric and people-driven, he said globally reforms are handicapped with perception of being government programmes and a burden on the people and this needs to change.

Noting that reform is a continuous multi-stage process and that it must be institutionalised, the Prime Minister said it must be technology-driven and must have scale and address root causes.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters Friday that Prime Minister Abbott had specially requested Mr Modi to outline his vision for reforms at the informal meeting of G20 leaders at the retreat in addition to his intervention at the main summit.