Positioning and branding India as the ‘global manufacturing hub’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that his government is working towards scaling up the share of the manufacturing sector to 25 per cent of the GDP.
“We are working aggressively towards making India a global manufacturing hub. We want the share of manufacturing in our GDP to go up to 25 per cent in the near future,” Modi said, inaugurating the Make in India Week in Mumbai.
Towards achieving this goal, the prime minister said that he was particularly keen on scaling up investments in the next generation infrastructure. "This includes roads, ports, railways, airports, telecom, digital networks and clean energy,” he said at the National Sports Complex of India at Worli here, after visiting the Make in India Centre at the Bandra-Kurla Complex, where he formally inaugurated the mega event, dubbed as Asia’s biggest multi-sectoral exhibition.
"In a year’s time, Make in India has become the biggest brand that India has ever created. Both within and outside the country, it has captured the imagination of people, institutions, industries, media and the political leadership,” Modi told a gathering of corporate leaders who had converged in Mumbai from across the globe.
Key projects
During the course of his address, the prime minister referred to his key projects like Digital India, Skill India and Start-up India.
“India offers you a solid platform to test and launch your making and designing capabilities. In addition, our maritime location makes it easy to market products in several other continents. We are trying to further enable and harness this vast potential with path-breaking initiatives. Campaigns like Digital India and Skill India have been designed to prepare people to take part in this process,” he said.
“From space shuttles to pollution control; from health to education; from agriculture to services; our young entrepreneurs and startups are showing us newer and faster ways for enterprise and delivery. My government is committed to support them and tap their energy fully. We want our youth to become job creators rather than job seekers.”
Europe keen on India
European countries Poland, Sweden and Finland have shown interest in India, assuring to invest in the country, even as half-a-dozen mega deals were signed on the inaugural day of one of the biggest mega events and multi-sectoral exhibitions of Asia.
“Poland is a strong economy in the European Union and it is getting stronger with every passing year. Polish business leaders are looking for partners in India, which holds the future of global economy. There is huge scope for collaboration between both the countries in the areas of mining, food processing, steel, shipbuilding, information technology (IT) and ITeS,” Polish Investment Agency President Stawomir Majman said.
Indian investment in Poland rose seven times in the last five years. However, there is plenty of opportunities for Indian companies to explore in the Polish economy, Majman added.
Modi recalled long association of his home state Gujarat with Poland through Jamnagar during his bilateral talks with the Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Glinski. They discussed areas of cooperation in food processing, clean energy and transportation sectors.
Sweden, another partner coutry for the MIIW, also said that the country is keen to hike their investments in India.
In his talks with his Swedish counterpart Stefan Löfven, Modi lauded Sweden as significant participant under the Make In India initiative.
There are around 160 Swedish companies in India that generate 160,000 jobs in the country directly, and 1.1 million, indirectly.
During his interaction with the Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, Modi invited Finland’s active participation in engineering, power plants, biotech and innovation. The two prime ministers also tele-inaugurated a new manufacturing unit of Trivitron Healthcare in Chennai.
Three mega MoUs signed
Three key MoUs entailing an investment of nearly Rs 21,000 crore were signed between corporate giants and the Maharashtra Government in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
An MoU between Sterlite Group company TwinStar Display Technologies and MIDC to set up LCD manufacturing unit known as Panel FAB, with technical collaboration with Autron of Taiwan. The project entails investment of Rs 20,000 crore.
Another MoU between Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages,Jain Irrigation and Department of Agriculture and Marketing to set up a juice manufacturing facility to support farmers growing oranges in Vidarbha. Besides, an MoU between Raymond Industries and MIDC was signed — as part of a ‘Farm-to-Fabric’ initiative — wherein Raymond intends to invest Rs 1,400 crore to manufacture linen yarn, fabric and garmenting, in the Nandgaon Textile Park at Amravati District.