Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his address at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Meeting 2021 on Wednesday at 5.00 pm via video conferencing. He started by thanking industry leaders for their role in mitigating various crises and contributing to the growth of the country during the pandemic.
“During such a massive pandemic, we’re witnessing the strengthening of Indian govt and its industries. From masks to PPEs to vaccination, the industry has given every possible support to the government. All of you have been major players in the Indian growth story,” PM Modi said in his opening comments at the Special Plenary Session of CII Annual Meeting 2021.
“The environment for growth and the belief in ourselves currently in India must be used by Indian industries fully. In the last few years, the changes that have taken place have been witnessed by everyone. Today, India is inviting investment in several sectors”.
“The several steps taken by the government has led to record FDI in India. We’re also creating new records in FPI and the forex reserve is at an all-time high,” he added.
Modi said startup unicorns are turning out to be India’s identity globally. India has 60 unicorns now out of which 21 are made in the last few months. Unicorns in health tech, social commerce etc are testimonials to growing confidence in India’s startups.
“Start-Ups are showing self-confidence. Several unicorns are becoming the image of the nation. 7-8 years ago, India might have had just 3-4 unicorns. Today, there are nearly 60 unicorns in India!,” he said lauding India’s burgeoning start-up ecosystem.
‘New India’ is ready and committed to growing with the new world. India, which was once apprehensive of foreign investment, is today welcoming all types of investments. India is taking major leaps in ease of doing business ranking today, he added.
Industry leaders cutting across sectors and companies addressed the gathering ahead of Modi’s speech. Baba Kalyani, CMD, Bharat Forge Ltd, Uday Kotak, MD, CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Sons CEO Natarajan Chandrasekaran were some of the captains of corporate India who spoke at the event.
“PLI schemes introduced in 13 sectors have established new paradigms and milestones for Indian manufacturing,” said Kalyani.
Chandrasekaran proposed a 6-point strategy to propel India’s economy to scale from $3 trillion to $12 trillion by 2031 by leveraging technology. He proposed measures such as increasing access to healthcare, finance and education by using technology. He proposed a nodal agency for collaboration with other countries on data privacy, data localisation, taxation among others.
The CII Annual Meeting 2021 will be held over two days of 11-12 August. Heng Swee Keat, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Singapore will address as Special International Guest Speaker.
The event will also have the participation of many ministers, senior officials, academics and prominent representatives of Indian industry.
Earlier speaking at the event, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar said, “In the 55 years of its existence, Haryana has progressed well above other states, be it the green revolution followed by a white revolution followed by industrial and infrastructure development”.
“Haryana has always done well, both in traditional and new sports.The state will focus on strengthening sports infra and education and providing financial support to athletes, which is already probably the highest in the world,” Khattar added.
