Govt to play enabler not handler: Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited his dispensation's push for wide-ranging reforms, including the privatisation of Air India, to assert that the country never had a more "decisive government".

Launching the Indian Space Association (ISpA), an industry body aspiring to be the voice of the country's space sector, Modi noted that fields like mining, coal, defence and space have been opened to private players, and said his government's clear policy about public sector enterprises is to open those to private industry where its presence is not required.

While opening a host of sectors, the government has built a regulatory environment in which priority has been given to national interest as well as the interests of different stakeholders, he said.

The prime minister referred to the successful bid to privatise loss-making government-run airline Air India, and said this shows his dispensation's commitment and seriousness.

An unshakable faith in India's capabilities and the belief that it is not an iota less than any other country in the world are driving its approach and reforms in the 21st century, Modi told the audience after members of the space sector shared their views.