PM Modi has lifted 40 crore people out of poverty: JP Morgan CEO

Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer (CEO) of global banking giant JPMorgan Chase, has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lifted 400 million (40 crore) people out of poverty and is doing an “incredible job” in India.

Speaking at an event organized by the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday, Dimon lauded the economic reforms implemented by the Modi government and said some of them could be introduced in the US as well.

“Modi has done incredible work in India. I know the liberal press here, when he lifted 400 million people out of poverty, they took a beating on him,” Dimon commented.

He praised PM Modi for his flexibility in challenging old bureaucratic systems and called him “tough”.

The leading banker referred to PM Modi as a “tough” administrator looking to break out old bureaucratic systems in India and said, “We need a little more of that here (in the US).”

The 68-year-old banker also praised India's GST regime, which he said has eliminated corruption arising from disparity in the tax systems adopted by different states.

Dimon highlighted India's progress in technology and finance, noting the widespread adoption of digital identities and banking services with more than 700 million citizens having bank accounts.

“Every citizen is identified by hand or eyeball or finger. They have bank accounts of 700 million people. They are getting transferred payments,” he said.

The banker also praised India's education system and infrastructure, describing them as “incredible”.