World is looking at India as a manufacturing powerhouse: PM Modi

New Delhi, Mar 4 (KNN) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a post-budget webinar on 'Make in India for the World', said the world is looking at India as a manufacturing powerhouse.

He stressed that the decisions taken for the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' campaign and Make In India in this year's Union Budget are very crucial for the industries.

PM Modi said, "We need to focus on 'Make in India', and we need to manufacture sustainable and qualitative products. We have to become self-reliant in the production of semiconductors. 'Make in India' is the demand of the time,".

He mentioned how the Coronavirus pandemic shook the global economy, disrupting supply chains across the world, "this makes Make In India far more relevant and important".

Today, the world is looking at India as a manufacturing powerhouse. Our manufacturing sector is nearly 15% of our GDP, but there are infinite possibilities with Make In India. We must work to build a robust manufacturing base in the country  in sync with all stakeholders, the Prime Minister emphasized.

He also said that India needs to work on both exports as well as domestic needs, stressing that manufacturers should consider quality and environmental impact.

Our products should have zero defects in a competitive world, quality matters. The world is environmentally conscious, and thus our products should have zero effect on the environment, he added.

PM Modi called on manufacturers to adopt a research based futuristic approach, saying, Just buying terracotta 'diyas' on Diwali is not being 'vocal for local', we need to think big. Domestic manufacturers need to maintain global standards and we need a research-based futuristic approach.

Branding of our indigenous products should also highlight 'Made in India' and 'Vocal for Local' traits. It will help the sales of our products, he added.

In the webinar, the Prime Minister mentioned that the government has given special focus on strengthening MSMEs in this year's budget.

In this budget, we've given special focus to strengthening MSMEs with credit facilitation and technology upgradation. The Govt has announced a new programme worth Rs 6,000 crore for MSMEs. New railway logistic products will also be developed for farmers and large industries, he said.

He also stated that several PLI schemes are at the implementation stage, "they will promote manufacturing across sectors".

Last year, we removed over 25,000 compliances. Auto-renewal of licenses has also been started. These moves have helped speed and transparency in the regulatory framework, PM Modi added.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal is also taking part in the virtual session.

Earlier, the Prime Minister participated in similar webinars held for Defence, Education, Rural Development, Health, and Agriculture sectors. The webinars focus on the successful implementation of Budget 2022-23. (KNN Bureau)