BENGALURU: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Bengaluru represents the startup spirit of India and has helped the country to stand apart in a different league in the world.
“In the entire world, India’s identity is in startups, and strengthening the case in Bengaluru has played a great role. The startup does not happen with a single company. It is a spirit to do something new, a spirit to think out of the box and it is a confidence and there are many choices before the country,” the PM said, addressing a huge rally after inaugurating the Terminal-2 at the Kempegowda International Airport and unveiling Nadaprabhu Kempegowda’s 108-foot ‘Statue of Prosperity’ at the airport.
Earlier in the morning, he flagged off the Vande Bharat train to Chennai and Bharat Gaurav Kashi Yatra train to Kashi for pilgrims. He also paid floral tributes to the statues of saints Kanakadasa and Valmiki at Vidhana Soudha and the portrait of Onake Obavva, a mid-fifteenth century woman warrior, at the rally near KIA.
Modi showered praise on Bengaluru and Karnataka for getting investments worth Rs 4 lakh crore while the world was struggling through the Covid-19 pandemic, to stand at number 1 position in India in attracting FDI. He attributed that to the “double engine” government — a term used to describe the same party in power at the Centre and the state.
‘Airports creating new playing field for expansion of businesses’
“Four hundred Fortune 500 companies operating from Karnataka, and the list is growing. This became possible because of the double engine governments. Karnataka is reaping the benefits of the trust and aspirations that the entire world has shown towards India,” he said.
“The investments are not limited to the IT sector, but range from biotechnology to defence, as Karnataka has a 25% share in the aircraft and spacecraft industry of India. About 70% of aircraft and helicopters that are made for India’s defence are manufactured here,” he pointed out.
Besides improving the physical infrastructure, Karnataka has also been progressing in developing the social infrastructure as over 30 lakh households in the rural areas are being facilitated with piped water under Jal Jeevan Mission, over eight lakh are being given pucca houses and four lakh people got free treatment under Ayushman Bharat scheme, he said.
“There were about 70 airports in the country before 2014, but today it has doubled to more than 140. Airports are creating a new playing field for the expansion of businesses besides creating new opportunities for the youth of the nation,” Modi remarked, adding that India is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world in air travel as the number of passengers travelling by air is growing rapidly.
The Terminal 2 will help BIA become the second biggest airport in India and will add new facilities for passengers and services to boost connectivity between the cities, he said.