 "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, independence day")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives a Guard of Honour on 78th Independence Day at the Red Fort, in New Delhi, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (PTI Photo
The government is taking steps to transform India into a global manufacturing hub, not only to drive economic growth but also to make India a global leader across various sectors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.
India can become a hub for industrial manufacturing by leveraging its vast resources and skilled workforce. “The day is not far when India will be the hub of industrial manufacturing and the world will be looking towards it,” Modi said while addressing the nation on Independence Day.
The Prime Minister urged the industry to cut dependence on imports and focus on ‘Make in India’. He further spoke about the government’s ambitious Rs 1.97 trillion production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which is seeing great success. The scheme aims to make India a manufacturing powerhouse, curb import dependence, and create employment opportunities.
According to Modi, due to the policies implemented by the government, India has been able to create an ecosystem to manufacture mobile phones and export them to the world, instead of being dependent on the import of phones in the past. The outcome has been similar in the case of toys.
“FDI reforms have also given us great strength. MSMEs have received a great boost. A new system has developed, and due to that, our manufacturing sector has become a manufacturing hub of the world,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister’s speech is also a reflection of the Bharatiya Janata Party manifesto that promised to make India a global manufacturing hub and enhance employment in crucial sectors such as electronics, defence, mobile, and automobiles.
The party aims to make India a global electronics manufacturing hub by 2030.
There should be a focus on ‘Design in India, Design for the World,’ and the Prime Minister urged the creation of products that cater to both domestic and international markets.
“India is known for its best quality. Now we have to focus on the field of design in India for the world. We have to try to make sure that the Indian standard becomes the international standard. When the Indian standard becomes the international standard, then everything of ours will be easily approved. This will depend on the quality of our production, service, and approach,” Modi said.
Modi also said that the world’s biggest companies want to invest in India. “I have seen this after the elections, most of the people who are asking to meet me in my third term are investors… This is a very big golden opportunity. I request the state governments to attract investors,” he said.
He further stated that India is trying to be self-reliant in defence and is emerging as a global manufacturing hub due to the steps taken by the government in the last few years.
He also pointed out that there was a time when the majority of the defence budget was used to procure weapons and equipment from abroad, but his government focused on indigenous manufacturing to make the nation self-reliant.
According to government data, annual defence production hit a record high of Rs 1.27 lakh crore in FY24, growing by nearly a third to Rs 21,083 crore. During the April-June quarter of the current financial year, defence exports grew 78 per cent year-on-year to Rs 6,915 crore.
First Published: Aug 15 2024 | 3:21 PM IST
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