'Make in India' more crucial from prism of national security: PM Modi

'Today, the world is looking at India as a manufacturing powerhouse' said PM Modi

Amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that ‘Make in India’ was the need of the hour, and called upon India Inc to make efforts to reduce the import of goods that can be manufactured in the country.

“Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) is all the more important if we see from the prism of national security," Modi said, speaking at a post-Budget webinar on ‘Make in India’.

He said manufacturers should move with a sense of removing dependencies on foreign sources in sectors such as semiconductors and electric vehicles. Similarly, there is a need to be focussed on indigenous manufacturing in areas such as steel and medical equipment. “Today, the world is looking at India as a manufacturing powerhouse,” Modi said.

“If raw materials go out of any country and it imports manufactured goods made from them, this situation will be a loss-making deal…We should work hard to build a robust manufacturing base in India. We have to promote ‘Make in India’ in what is needed in the country today,” he said.

Modi’s statement comes against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, which has rattled global supply chains. In the recent past, a raging Covid-19 pandemic had disrupted supply chains, making it imperative for nations to work towards becoming self-reliant.

The prime minister also highlighted the need to find new destinations for local products, and urged the private sector to enhance spending on research and development, and diversify and upgrade their product portfolios. He also pointed out the new possibilities, with the opening up of areas like mining, coal and defence. “You will have to maintain global standards and you will also have to compete globally,” he said.

Modi also sought industry’s suggestions to speed up the implementation of the production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes. 

 “The impact of the continuous reforms that have taken place one after the other is visible. For example, in the PLI for large-scale electronics manufacturing, we crossed Rs 1-trillion production by December 2021. Many of our PLI schemes are currently at a very critical stage of implementation,” he added.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who also addressed the webinar, said the world today wants to emulate the India story regarding self-reliance as other countries are also talking about programmes similar to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

Goyal also shared his five-point vision for manufacturing and promoting exports, which includes taking the manufacturing sector’s contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) to 25 per cent from 14 per cent now, increase global trade to 10 per cent of economy, become top three nations in services exports, support small businesses to aid foreign trade, and create 10 innovation centres.