M A I N   N E W S

Modi unveils ‘Make in India’, woos biz czars
Tribune News Service

What PM said Focus on creating physical infrastructure and digital network to make India a hub for global manufacturing of goods Government’s priority is not only to ‘Look East’, but also to ‘Link West’ Leaves for US PM Narendra Modi on Thursday afternoon left New Delhi on a five-day visit to the US. During the visit, the PM will address the UN General Assembly on Sept 27 and hold a two-day summit meeting with President Barack Obama.

New Delhi, September 25
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for making India a manufacturing destination at the launch of his ambitious “Make in India” campaign in the presence of India Inc bigwigs today.

Modi said boosting manufacturing would in turn create more jobs, increase the purchasing power of people and drive economic growth.

The Prime Minister promised easy and effective governance to investors and companies, and said the gloom among the business community following lack of clarity on policy issues had dissipated over the past few months.

He said he had heard Indian businessmen say they would leave the country and set up business elsewhere. This had hurt him, he said. No Indian businessman should feel a compulsion to leave the country under any circumstance, he asserted.

Modi indicated that instead of providing sops, the government would provide a conducive environment to the industry to invest and grow in India.

“Incentives can’t attract business. We have to create development and growth-oriented environment,” said the Prime Minister.

Modi also unveiled the “Make in India” logo and launched a website that would address investor queries in addition to 25 sectoral brochures covering diverse industries. Several leading industry captains, including Cyrus Mistry (Tata group), Mukesh Ambani (RIL), Kumarmangalam Birla, YC Deveshwar (ITC), Chanda Kochar (ICICI Bank) backed the government initiative.

The Prime Minister said his government’s focus was not only to “Look East” but also to “Link West”.

“Global companies want to come to Asia but they don’t know where to look in Asia. Democracy, the demographic dividend and strong demand are important factors, and India has all three,” Modi said. The Prime Minister said “FDI” should be understood as “First Develop India” along with “Foreign Direct Investment”.

He urged investors not to look at India merely as a market, but see it as an opportunity. “Swachh Bharat” and “waste to wealth” could lead to good revenue models for business, he said while referring to his vision of waste water management and solid waste management in 500 towns across the country through public-private partnership. The Prime Minister also spoke of infrastructure of the future.