Foreign investments worth $100 bn knocking at India's doors, says PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said US $100 billion worth of foreign investments are knocking at the doors of the country and it is up to the states to lap up as much as they can.

Describing his 'Make In India' initiative as a "win-win" proposition, Modi said foreign investors should not treat the country as a mere market, but should focus on turning it into a manufacturing hub with a view to increase the purchasing power of the the citizens.

"US $100 billion investments from Japan, China and America have applied for visa. Now it is turn of the states to capitalise on the opportunity. The roads are wide open. The states which are ready can walk away with major share," he said while inaugurating the Global Investors' Summit at Indore.

The meeting is being attended by industry bigwigs including Reliance India Limited (RIL) chief Mukesh Ambani, ADAG's Anil Ambani, Adani Group head Gautam Adani and Tata Group chief Cyrus Mistry.

In the last couple of months, Modi has visited Japan and the United States and launched the Make in India campaign to lure foreign investments into the country's manufacturing sector.

"When we talk about Make in India, then we want to create confidence in the world that there is a huge investment possibility in India. Please do not consider India only as a market... Dump goods, sell them and make profits.

I tell the World, do not confine yourself to this. If India does not prosper, then its purchasing power will not increase. If India's purchasing power do not increase, then the dream to see India as a market will remain a distant dream," the Prime Minister said.

The focus of the government, he said, was to generate employment by encouraging agriculture, manufacturing and services sector.

The 64-year-old premier said states should rise above narrow political considerations on development agenda and Centre will extend all possible assistance to them.

Emphasising on the concept of Team India, which includes Prime Minister and state Chief Ministers, Modi said the country could not prosper unless states were empowered.

"Centre and states are not rivals or enemies... Centre will stand shoulder to shoulder with all states, irrespective of political affiliation, to facilitate economic growth," he said.

Modi said value addition in agriculture and focus on infrastructure will help the farmers immensely and asked the industrialists to add value to agro products. Madhya Pradesh accounts for 40 per cent of the organic farm produce in the country.

"In manufacturing sector, we should give impetus to products which can be exported," he said, adding the country needed to prepare a global talent pool to take advantage of the experience and expertise of the NRIs.

The initiative to create the global talent pool, a data of Indian origin persons living abroad, should be maintained, he said.

Praising Madhya Pradesh for taking advantage of the Central government schemes, Modi said it was the first state to initiate projects in defence manufacturing sector by proposing to set up units in Jabalpur and Gwalior.

The Prime Minister also invited investments under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in skill development with a view to bridge the gap between demand and supply of persons of specific skill sets.

He said MP is making two electronic estates to make Digital India campaign a reality and 36 lakh bank accounts have been opened in the state under the Jan Dhan Yojana.

Ambassadors of 28 countries were present at the summit - which also has nine partner countries.

Other prominent industrialists expected to attend the Global Investors' Summit in Indore include Essar Group's Shashi Ruia, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Adi Godrej, L&T's AM Nayak, Future Group Chief Executive Kishore Biyani, ITC Chairman YC Deveshwar and DCM Shriram Head Ajay Shriram.