Asserting that India needs a stable, strong and decisive government for the next decade, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Thursday said that populist measures hamper the country's progress.

Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Doval cited the example of Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba and said that Indian firms should also promote country's strategic interests.

We are not governed by people's representative, but by the laws made by them, therefore the rule of law is extremely important: Ajit Doval pic.twitter.com/Q4yrTAlCd6

— ANI (@ANI) October 25, 2018

"India needs a strong, stable and decisive government for the next 10 years. Weak coalitions will be bad for India. India cannot afford to be a soft power for the next few years because it will be compelled to take hard decisions," Doval said.

"The populist measures shouldn't take precedence over national requirements. It is a temptation that is you take the thing or you refrain from doing the thing which are in the national interest. But probably for a short time they may cause some pain to the people," the NSA said.

"See how China's Alibaba and others have become big companies, how much Chinese govt has supported them. We want the Indian pvt sector companies should perform and promote Indian strategic interest. If we have to become a major power then our economy has to be big, it has to be globally competitive and that can be only when it is technologically ahead," he added.