15 august 2024 : Underlining that a number of global companies want to invest in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on state governments to create policies to attract such funding and reiterated his stance on state-level competition for investments, during his 78th Independence Day speech.
The Prime Minister called for state governments to establish clear policies to attract investments, offer assurances of good governance, and ensure confidence in the law and order situation. He also said that India will become a global manufacturing hub, leveraging its vast resources and skilled workforce.
PM Modi’s comments come as India has outlined manufacturing in various sectors as a key driver of economic growth and an avenue for large-scale employment generation. The government has launched 14 production linked incentive (PLI) schemes in sectors like electronics and smartphones, telecom, pharmaceuticals etc. in its manufacturing push.
In electronics particularly, the scheme has helped a number of smartphone assembly plants by companies like Apple and Samsung come up in states like Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, with further expansion being planned in Karnataka. In semiconductors, India has cleared four proposals – a fab being set up by the Tatas in partnership with a Taiwanese company, and three packaging plants including one by Micron. Three of these projects are being set up in Gujarat, while a packaging plant by the Tatas is coming up in Assam.
During the NITI Aayog’s Governing Council meeting last month, the Prime Minister had told representatives of state governments and union territories that India needs to make its policies “conducive for international investments”. He had also urged states to compete for foreign direct investment (FDI).
The PM directed NITI Aayog to prepare an ‘investment-friendly charter’ of parameters which would include policies, programmes and processes to be put in place for attracting investments. States may be monitored on the basis of their achievement in these parameters to promote healthy competition among them for attracting investments, he said. Modi also underscored the importance of law and order, good governance and infrastructure as vital for attracting investments, rather than just incentives.