Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun his American sojourn with a gilded “Make in India” invitation to Corporate America by promising reforms and ease of doing business by eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations and streamlining bureaucratic procedures.
“We will create world-class infrastructure that India badly needs to accelerate growth and meet people’s basic needs. We will make our cities and towns habitable, sustainable and smart; and we will make our villages the new engines of economic transformation,” he says, eyeing American investors with deep pockets for his “Make in India” initiative to turn India into a new global manufacturing hub.
Significantly, Modi chose the influential business daily, The Wall Street Journal, to lay out his bold agenda to transform India through an Op-Ed piece, titled: “Unleashing India’s Energy and Drive.”
India, he writes, will be open and friendly — for business, ideas, research, innovations and travel, assuring his American audience: “In the coming months, you will feel the difference even before you begin your travel to India.”
Describing the United States as “our natural global partner”, Modi speaks of India and the US having “a fundamental stake in each other’s success — for the sake of our values and our many shared interests”.
“That is also the imperative of our partnership. And it will be of great value in advancing peace, security and stability in the Asia and Pacific regions; in the unfinished and urgent task of combating terrorism and extremism; and in securing our seas, cyber space and outer space, all of which now have a profound influence on our daily lives,” he notes.
Pointing to the complementary strengths of India and the US, Modi writes: “Because our countries’ values and interests are aligned, though our circumstances are different, we are in a unique position to become a bridge to a more integrated and cooperative world.”
“With sensitivity to each other’s point of view and the confidence of our friendship, we can contribute to more concerted international efforts to meet the pressing global challenges of our times,”
he adds.
Noting that this is “a moment of flux in the global order”, Modi writes: “I am confident in the destiny of our two nations, because democracy is the greatest source of renewal and, with the right conditions, offers the best opportunity for the human spirit to flourish.”
As he puts it, there is “a high tide of hope for change in India” as reflected by the unequivocal mandate for political stability, good governance and rapid development that brought his Government to power.
With 800 million people under the age of 35, unleashing the energy, enthusiasm and enterprise of this young India will be his government’s biggest mission, he says.
At a time when the US and other Western countries are pushing India and China on the climate change front, Modi has assured that India’s journey would be “more sustainable and environmentally sensitive” than the path followed by the industrialised countries.