Prime Minister of India’s speech at inauguration of Make in India Week

His Excellency, the Prime Minister of Sweden;

His Excellency, the Prime Minister of Finland;

His Excellency, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Poland;

Ministers, Excellencies and Dignitaries from other countries;

Governor of Maharashtra;

Chief Minister of Maharashtra;

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry;

Invitees, Industry Leaders, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am delighted to be part of the celebrations of the “Make in India Week.” I welcome you all to Mumbai, the commercial capital of India. I particularly welcome our friends from abroad and thank them for their active participation. I thank the Government of Maharashtra for hosting this event. I also thank other States for their active participation.

Friends!

When I look back at the launch of the Make in India initiative over a year ago, I also recall the aspirations of our youth. 65 per cent of the population of India is under the age of 35. This youthful energy is our greatest strength.

We launched the Make in India campaign to create employment and self-employment opportunities for our youth. 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.

We were also aware that under the pressure of this campaign, the government machinery will be required to make a number of corrections on the policy front.

We are committed to make India an easy place to do business.

We want to present to the world the enormous opportunities that India offers as a base for manufacturing, design, research and development.

Make in India week is an opportunity to take stock of how we have performed. And what could be the road ahead.

This event will show-case different aspects of the progress that we have made. This is the biggest multi-sectoral event and exhibition ever held in India. I encourage all of you to see for yourselves the direction that India is taking.

Let me take this opportunity to share my thoughts.

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.

This is because:

· It reflects our collective desire to engage in productive activities;

· It also reflects the global need to produce things at lower cost.

· It is forcing us to make corrections and increase efficiency;

· It has emboldened us to integrate with the world on equal terms.

Let me give you some concrete examples of what we have done:

Today, India is perhaps the most open country for FDI. Most of the FDI sectors have been put on automatic approval route.

Our FDI inflows have gone up by 48 per cent since the day my Government came into office. In fact, FDI inflow in December, 2015 was the highest ever in this country. This is, at a time, when global FDI has fallen substantially.

We have carried out a number of corrections on the taxation front. We have said that we will not resort to retrospective taxation. And I repeat this commitment once again. We are also swiftly working towards making our tax regime transparent, stable and predictable.

We have laid all round emphasis on Ease of Doing Business. In the manufacturing sector, we have taken decisive steps to simplify processes and rationalize provisions. This includes licensing, cross-border trade, security and environmental clearances. We have announced attractive schemes in several sectors including electronics and textiles.

We have made substantial policy corrections in the defence sector. From licensing to offset regime and export regime, we have given what the defence industry was looking for.

Smooth and transparent allocation of natural resources is another example. The advantages from this are two-fold: On one hand the production of such resources has gone up. On the other hand, the transparent regime that we have established provides a level playing field among users and stake-holders.

This year, we will record the highest ever coal production. Also, 2015 was the year when India’s highest ever generation of electricity was recorded.

On the issue of safety of properties and rights, we have already enacted a law for fast tracking of arbitration proceedings. We are establishing dedicated Commercial Courts and Commercial Divisions in High Courts. The formation of the Company Law Tribunal is at the final stage.

Soon we shall be putting in place an effective IPR Policy and patent regime. We hope to pass the bankruptcy law which has been tabled in Parliament.

Hence, on the front of policy and procedure, we have made our systems cleaner, simpler, pro-active and business friendly.

I believe in Minimum Government and Maximum Governance. Therefore, almost on a daily basis, we are trying to remove the bottlenecks that were affecting investments and growth.

It is good to see that changes and corrections are taking place not just at the level of the Federal Government but also at the state level. States are now in healthy competition to provide ease of business and infrastructure linkages.

The results have been encouraging.

India has become the fastest growing large economy in the world. We will end this fiscal year with well over seven per cent growth in GDP. IMF, World Bank, OECD, ADB and other institutions have projected even better growth in the coming days.

In 2014-15, India contributed 12.5 per cent of global growth. Its contribution to global growth is 68 per cent higher than its share of the world economy.

Let me also mention some other indicators:

· India has consistently been ranked as the most attractive investment destination by several global agencies and institutions.

· We have jumped twelve ranks in the latest global ranking by the World Bank on ease of doing business.

· India has improved its UNCTAD ranking of investment attractiveness, from fifteenth, to ninth.

· India has jumped sixteen places on the World Economic Forum’s global competitive index.

· Moody’s has upgraded the rating of India as positive.

The momentum of the Make in India campaign has given us confidence. It motivates us to make our policies and processes easier and friendlier.

With this background, I invite and encourage you to make India your work place; and also your home.

Friends!

We are particularly keen to scale up investments in next generation infrastructure. This includes roads, ports, railways, airports, telecom, digital networks and clean energy.

We are also investing in our social, industrial and agricultural infrastructure to give better income and quality of life to our people.

So far, it was our implementation capacity that was the biggest bottleneck. We have speeded up processes. The result is faster turn-around of projects. India’s highest ever kilometers of new highway contracts awarded was in 2015.

Similarly, the increase in railway capital expenditure was the highest this year.

Thus, whether it is physical or social infrastructure; we are executing it much more efficiently than ever before.

Another bottleneck was financing. To enhance financing, we are trying innovative ways. We are opening up our Greenfield and Brownfield projects for Public Private Partnership. With strong fiscal discipline, and by plugging leakages, we are trying to provide more resources for infrastructure.

We have also set up the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. We have come up with the mechanism of Tax Free Infrastructure Bonds for projects in rail, road and irrigation sectors. We are working with a number of countries, financial markets and funds on these financial instruments.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

India is a land of immense opportunities. Fifty of our cities are ready for setting up Metro Rail Systems. We have to build fifty million houses. The requirement of road, rail and waterways is enormous. There is no time for incremental changes. We want a quantum jump.

We have also decided to do this in a cleaner and greener way. That is why, we have made a commitment to the world community at the recent COP-21 meeting in Paris. Hence, we are going for renewable energy in a big way - 175 Gigawatts.

I lay great stress on zero defect and zero effect manufacturing. We place high emphasis on energy efficiency, water re-cycling, waste to energy, clean India and river cleaning. These initiatives are directed at improving quality of life in cities and villages. These initiatives provide you additional avenues for investment in technologies, services and human resources.

Friends!

India is blessed with three Ds. These are: Democracy, Demography and Demand. To this, we have added the fourth D that is Deregulation. Today’s India is this four dimensional India.

Our judicial systems are independent and time tested.

You will not find all these elements in any other country.

With these strengths, 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. We have launched financing schemes which are dedicated to promote entrepreneurship. We are giving loans through MUDRA Bank without any collateral. I have also impressed upon the Banks to particularly finance young entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes as well as women entrepreneurs.

· Only this will realize the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi who wanted industries to be run in Villages and Cottages.

· Only this will realize the dreams of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar who advocated the need to move surplus labour from agriculture to other occupations.

We are soon going to strengthen this process further under the banner of Stand-up India.

I feel that today, our domestic industry and investors are feeling much more confident and optimistic in spite of an uncertain global situation.

When we started the Make in India campaign, manufacturing growth in the country was 1.7 per cent. This year it has improved substantially. In the current quarter, manufacturing growth is expected be around 12.6 per cent.

· The composite PMI output index has climbed to an eleven month high of 53.3 per cent in January 2016.

· The total number of investment proposals during the last eight months is higher by 27 per cent.

· We have recorded the highest ever production of motor vehicles in 2015.

· As many as fifty new mobile phone factories were set up in the country during past ten months.

· Electronic manufacturing has grown six-fold to 18 million.

· 159 Electronic System Design and Manufacturing units, popularly known as ESDM units were established in India in 2015.

· As per estimates of certain agencies, the Indian job market is now on a strong footing. For example, the Monster Employment Index for India stood at 229 in January 2016 which is up by 52 per cent over January of last year.

Similarly, on the trade front:

· India’s highest ever software exports were recorded in 2015.

· Also in 2015, our major ports handled the highest ever quantity of cargo.

These are very good signs. I would like to give our industry some friendly advice. Don’t wait. Don’t Relax. There are immense opportunities in India. You should take advantage of the renewed interest of Global Players to work in India. Many of them are looking for technological and financial collaborations with Indian partners. This includes high-tech sectors and high-value areas like defence production. I assure you that if you take one step; we will walk two steps for you.

In a competitive world improving managerial and technological capacity is essential for survival and growth. From space shuttles to pollution control; from health to education; from agriculture to services; our young entrepreneurs and start-ups 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. That is why, we have launched the Start up India Campaign.

We are keen to find ways in which:

· Our minds are able to empower the hands;

· Our hands are able to master the machines;

· Our machines are able to make the best;

· Our products are able to beat the rest.

Make in India is a drive to fulfill unmet demands of the common man. It is also an effort to engage and empower the unemployed. I also emphasize on Make for India; so that human and sectoral needs can be fulfilled. I have heard several global companies talk about their localization plans. Thus, this campaign has the capacity to boost the Indian economy and also brighten the global scenario.

Friends!

I have been saying that this century is Asia’s century. My advice to you is to Make India your center; if you want this century to be your century. I invite everyone sitting here and also those not here, to be a part of India’s unfolding story.
· This is the best time ever to be in India;
· And it is even better to Make in India.