NEW DELHI: A day after Japan opened up its coffers and offered to double its investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to hardsell India as a manufacturing destination, asserting that no other country has the opportunities of democracy, demography and demand. “Bharat is ready to invite you. Make in India. Whatever facilities you want, they are there,” he said at his second major business conference on Tuesday, the penultimate day of his Japan visit.
At the event hosted by Nikkei Inc and Japan External Trade Organisation, Modi said the era of “red tape” in India has been replaced by a “red carpet” for potential investors. He assured that his vision of “Made in India” bears the quality of “Made in Japan”. “What do manufacturers want? They look for low-cost manufacturing, cheap labour, skilled manpower, ease of business and liberalised environment. It is all economically viable in India,” the Prime Minister pointed out. He added that if India can replicate the work culture, governance, efficiency and the discipline of Japan, businesses would feel comfortable in India.
“Trillions and trillions of dollars need to be invested in India. The electronic market, especially the mobile handset sector, is a big market with a potential,” Modi said, detailing his plans of a digital India.
He added that India and Japan complement each other in terms of leadership in software and hardware. “India is incomplete without Japan. Japan is incomplete without India,” he said. Asked why he prefers only small and medium businesses from Japan to enter India, he quipped, “Even the small from Japan is big for India.”
Unlike the previous day when he made indirect references to China’s “expansionist thinking”, Modi preferred to side-step questions on India’s giant neighbour.
The Prime Minister, instead, turned everyone’s attention to the commonality of democratic traditions in India and Japan. “India is a democratic country. Similarly, Japan is also a democratic country. If India and Japan together think about peace, we can make the world realise the strength of a democracy”. Modi’s Japan visit comes two weeks before he hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping in India. It will be right before he leaves for the US to meet President Barack Obama.
