New Delhi, Jan 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday launched the Aspirational Block Programme on the lines of a similar exercise aimed at developing backward districts and asserted that India is focussing on the four pillars of infrastructure, investment, innovation and inclusion to be a developed country.
Chairing the second national conference on chief secretaries from states on its third and last day, Modi said the entire world is looking to India to bring stability to the global supply chain and asked them to take steps for making the MSME sector “global champions” and a part of the global value chain.
He said the country can take full advantage of this only if states take lead by maintaining focus on quality and making decisions with an “India-first” approach, according to a statement.
The prime minister also called upon the chief secretaries to focus on ending “mindless compliances” and outdated laws and rules.
At a time when India is initiating unparalleled reforms, there is no scope for overregulation and mindless restrictions, he tweeted. Modi said the states should focus on pro-development governance, ease of doing business, ease of living and provision of robust infrastructure.
“We should move towards self-certification, deemed approvals and standardisation of forms,” he said, according to a statement.
The prime minister also spoke about the development of both physical and social infrastructure along with a focus on the enhancement of cyber security.
He also tweeted, “With the eyes of the world being on India, combined with the rich talent pool of our youth, the coming years belong to our nation.”
“Strengthening our MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector is important for the country to become self-reliant and to boost economic growth,” Modi said, adding that equally important is to popularise local products.
The prime minister also discussed the significance of 2023 being the International Year of Millets and steps to enhance the popularity of their products.
In his address, the prime minister recalled the development “milestones” since the last conference in June 2022, citing India getting the presidency of G20, becoming the fifth biggest global economy, rapid registration of new startups, foray of private players in the space sector, launch of National Logistics Policy and the approval of National Green Hydrogen Mission.
To make MSMEs globally competitive, they should have access to finance, technology, market and for skilling, the statement quoting Modi said. (PTI)
