New Delhi, June 22 (AHN) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the world considers India a reliable power.

Addressing a media event here, PM Modi said: “Bharat is a fast-growing economy, a credible economy, and along with being among the rising powers, Bharat is also a reliable power.”

“We are the nation whose consciousness carries the memory of an era. We are a nation with an era's memory chip embedded within us. India today is writing the future of the next 1,000 years. And that is India's biggest guarantee to the world,” the Prime Minister observed.

Recalling his recent participation in the G7 summit in France, PM Modi said: “Every leader and every country in the world clearly understands that for today’s India, 'Nation First' is the biggest mantra and the biggest principle. ”

He said that in the achievements of the past 12 years, the spirit of Nation First remains at the centre. From the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to Make in India, from promoting khadi purchases to encouraging local products, all these initiatives succeeded because the people of the country placed the nation above themselves and fulfilled their duty.

India is not a nation that reacts impulsively to momentary events. We are a civilization that has witnessed both development and destruction. It has endured both. Keeping a positive mindset has been the most effective driver of growth in the country, he observed.

The Prime Minister further stated that India has boarded the Reforms Express and the speed will accelerate with the Government adopting an “India First approach” to achieve the goal of Viksit Bharat (a developed India).

He said, "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to Make in India, promoting the purchase of Khadi, and encouraging the purchase of local products -- these initiatives have succeeded because the people of the country have placed the nation above everything and fulfilled their duties. I salute the citizens of the country…"

The Prime Minister also highlighted the big push to infrastructure in the country with the rapid expansion in the highways, railways and civil aviation sectors which had brought about a radical change in connectivity in the country over the last 12 years.

Besides, he underscored the steps taken by the government to make life easier for the middle-class with the exemption in income tax up to earnings of Rs 12 lakh a year. The provision of cheap medicines, medical insurance facilities were other steps that had eased the burden on middle-class households, he added.