Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India’s main adversary is its dependence on other nations as he made a strong pitch for “aatmanirbharta” and called for indigenous production of everything from semiconductor chips to ships. He was in Bhavnagar on a day-long trip to the state. Upon arrival in Bhavnagar in the morning, he participated in a roadshow.
Speaking at the ‘Samudra se Samruddhi’ event, where he inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth Rs 34,200 crore, Modi said all the problems of India have only one solution, and that is self-reliance.
“India is moving forward with the spirit of global brotherhood and India has no major enemy in the world today, but in true terms, India’s biggest adversary is dependence on other nations,” stated the Prime Minister, emphasising that this dependence must be collectively defeated.
“The future of 140 crore Indians cannot be left to external forces, nor can the resolve for national development be based on foreign dependence. The future of the coming generations cannot be left to others,” he added.
Citing India’s shipping sector as a major example of the damage caused by flawed policies, Modi said that India once had a very vibrant ship-building industry.
“Till 50 years ago, our trade was carried out by 40 per cent ships made in India, but this has now come down to just 5 per cent,” the PM pointed out.
He said India pays a staggering USD 75 billion or Rs 6 lakh crore every year to foreign shipping companies for their services. “Can people imagine how much money has been paid in freight to other countries over the past seven decades? This outflow of funds has created millions of jobs abroad. If even a small portion of this expenditure had been invested by earlier governments in the domestic shipping industry, the world would have been using Indian ships today, and India would have been earning lakh of crores in shipping services,” the PM added. “Chips (semiconductor chips) or ships, we must make them in India,” Modi said.
India’s maritime sector is moving towards next-generation reforms, he said, and announced that all major ports in the country will be freed from multiple documents and fragmented processes. “The implementation of ‘One Nation, One Document’ and ‘One Nation, One Port’ Process will simplify trade and commerce,” he said. He said the government is working on three major schemes to make India a major maritime power.
“These initiatives will ease financial support for the shipbuilding sector, help shipyards adopt modern technology, and improve design and quality standards. Over Rs 70,000 crore will be invested in the coming years,” he said.
He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects related to the maritime sector worth more than Rs 7,870 crore. He also unveiled and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects of the Central and state governments, worth more than Rs 26,354 crore, catering to various sectors in Gujarat.
The PM also conducted an aerial survey of Dholera Special Investment Region, a greenfield industrial hub located around 100 km south of Ahmedabad.
