India has become manufacturing powerhouse: PM Modi

New Delhi, Sep 29: With his government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative completing 10 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India has become a manufacturing powerhouse and it is because of the country’s youth power that the “whole world is looking up to us”.

As the ‘Make in India’ initiative marked its 10th anniversary last week, the prime minister talked about it in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio broadcast and said the success of this campaign includes the contribution of the country’s big industries as well as small shopkeepers.

“Today, it gives me immense joy to see that the poor, the middle class and MSMEs are getting a lot of benefit from this campaign. This campaign has provided an opportunity to people of every class to showcase their talent,” Modi said.

“Today, India has become a manufacturing powerhouse and it is because of the youth power of the country that the whole world is looking up to us. Be it automobiles, textiles, aviation, electronics or defence… every sector in the country’s exports are constantly on the rise,” he added.

The prime minister said the continual rise of FDI in the country is narrating the success saga of ‘Make in India’.

“Now we are mainly focusing on two things… The first is ‘Quality’, that is, goods made in our country should be of global standards… and the other is ‘Vocal for Local. That means, local products should get maximum promotion,” Modi said.

“In ‘Mann Ki Baat’ we’ve also discussed ‘My Product My Pride’. How the people of the country can benefit from promoting local products can be understood through an example. In Bhandara district of Maharashtra, there is an old textile tradition of, ‘Bhandara Tussar Silk Handloom’. Tussar Silk, is known for its colour, design and strength.

“In some areas of Bhandara, more than 50 ‘Self Help Groups are working to preserve it. Women have a huge participation in that. This silk is fast becoming popular and empowering local communities… and that is the spirit of ‘Make in India’,” he added.

In this festive season, Modi urged people that anything that they buy, should necessarily be ‘Made in India’.

“Anything you gift that too should be ‘Made in India’. Merely buying earthen lamps is not ‘Vocal for Local’. You should promote local products made in your area more and more. Any such product, that has been made with the sweat of an Indian artisan, that is made on Indian soil, is our pride - we always have to lend glory to this pride,” he said.

On the 10th anniversary of his government’s ‘Make in India’ drive, Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday affirmed that the flagship initiative to boost manufacturing has transformed a dream into a powerful movement and its impact shows that “Bharat is unstoppable”.

In a blog on LinkedIn, the prime minister had lauded everyone who played a role in making the initiative a “roaring success”, saying each of them is a pioneer, visionary and innovator, whose tireless efforts have fuelled the programme’s success, making India the focus of global attention as well as curiosity.