Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government’s performance had attracted the world’s attention and ratings agencies have endorsed the steps taken to develop the economy. Modi made the remarks in an interview to Zee News.

Asked about the criticism levelled against the government because of economic slowdown in the aftermath of demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, Modi said the performance of his government should not be evaluated on the basis of only these two policies.

“We carried out economic reform, built toilets, brought electricity to 18,000 villages,” the prime minister pointed out. “In the past one year, 70 lakh EPF accounts have been created. Ten crore people have signed up for the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Loan Yojana that helps budding entrepreneurs set up businesses.”

Modi said that the economy is moving in the right direction, and the government would help youngsters develop skills in accordance with the global demand.

The prime minister also criticised the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance for not addressing the matters of concern to the states, and said that the Bharatiya Janata Party respects the federal structure.