New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said this is the right time to join India’s growth story, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met the Prime Minister in the national capital with a business delegation.

Addressing the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024, PM Modi said the time is ripe for foreign investors to participate in India’s growth story, and join the ‘Make in India’ initiative and ‘Make for the World’.

“This is the right time to join India’s growth story as the country is becoming a global trade and manufacturing hub,” PM Modi said, adding that the country stands on strong pillars of democracy, demography, demand, and data.

Germany has expressed that India’s skilled manpower is amazing as the European nation has decided to increase visas for the skilled Indian workforce from 20,000 to 90,000.

Chancellor Scholz arrived in Delhi late on Thursday as part of his three-day official visit to India.

The German Chancellor said he wanted to deepen defence ties with India and bring the two countries’ militaries closer.

“Our overall message is clear, we need more co-operation, not less. At our inter-governmental consultations with India, we also want to deepen cooperation in defence and agree to bring our militaries together,” he said.

The German Chancellor will travel to Goa on Saturday, where the German naval frigate ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and combat support ship ‘Frankfurt am Main’ are making a scheduled port call as part of Germany’s Indo-Pacific deployment.

Earlier in the day, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal emphasised understanding and respecting mutual sensitivities to fast-track India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) talks.

Addressing the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, the minister stated that “extraneous” issues like labour and climate change should be discussed at international forums.

“A trade deal could be concluded swiftly if sensitivities were respected on both sides,” Goyal told the Asia-Pacific conference of German business in the Indian capital, attended by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today spoke about India’s rise globally at the NDTV World Summit. He spoke about why the 21st Century is ‘The India Century’, how the country is growing rapidly, and how investors from around the world are excited about India being the fastest growing major economy.

Launching NDTV World, PM Modi spoke about the pace and momentum with which India is growing. The prime minister said, “Looking at India’s rapid growth – the fastest in the world – and the infrastructure build-up in the country, several global ratings agencies have upgraded India’s growth forecast.” He went on to say that “Investors from around the world are keenly tracking India’s growth and are excited about investing in the fastest growing market.”

Mentioning global investor Mark Mobius, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he “advises global fund managers that they should invest at least 50 per cent of their funds in the Indian stock market.” He said that this shows how closely investors like him are following the India growth story.

“Today, India is a nation that is both developing at a record pace, as well as an emerging global power,” PM Modi said, adding that when India speaks, the world listens.

“India knows how to move towards eradicating poverty while also knowing how to build a road to progress,” he further said.

In the last ten years, India’s stock market has gone from 22,300 to over 81,000, while India’s economy took 63 years, from Independence to 2010, to reach a GDP of $1 trillion, it took just seven years to reached $2 trillion – in 2017, and by 2020 it reached $3 trillion. India has gone from being the 11th largest economy to now being the 5th largest economy in the world in less than 10 years.

“I meet many people who tell me, ‘India is now the fifth largest economy in the world, so many milestones have been achieved, reforms implemented, then why are you working so hard?’ In the last 10 years, 12 crore toilets have been built, and 16 crore homes have gas connections… is this enough? My answer is no. This is not enough. Today India is among the youngest countries in the world. This youth potential can take us to the skies,” the Prime Minister said.

“The dreams we have seen, the pledge we have made, there is no rest, no relaxation,” he added.

PM Modi also said that when India grows, the world grows. There is no ill-feeling or negativity around India’s growth story. That, he said, is because India has friendly ties with almost all nations in the world and takes everyone along.