US Tour Begins: Narendra Modi reveals India's plans, strategy

New York, Sep 26: Asserting that there is a "high tide of hope for change" in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the country will be open and friendly for business and ideas to make it a new global manufacturing hub.

"We will create world-class infrastructure that India badly needs to accelerate growth and meet people's basic needs. We will make our cities and towns habitable, sustainable and smart; and we will make our villages the new engines of economic transformation," Modi said.

"Make in India is our commitment — and an invitation to all — to turn India into a new global manufacturing hub. We will do what it takes to make it a reality," he wrote in an op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal.

Modi said India will pursue its dreams in partnership with its international friends. "History tells us that India's natural instinct is to be open to the world. India will be open and friendly — for business, ideas, research, innovations and travel," Modi said.

"In the coming months, you will feel the difference even before you begin your travel to India." The Prime Minister, who arrives in New York today on his maiden five-day US visit, said, "There is a high tide of hope for change in India."

Modi said that 1.25 billion people spoke unequivocally this May for political stability, good governance and rapid development, adding that India has a government with a majority in the Lok Sabha, for the first time in 30 years.

"A young nation with 800 million people under age 35, India is brimming with optimism and confidence. The young people's energy, enthusiasm and enterprise are India's greatest strength.

"Unleashing those attributes is my government's biggest mission," he said. "We will pursue this mission by eliminating unnecessary laws and regulations, making bureaucratic processes easier and shorter, and ensuring that our government is more transparent, responsive and accountable. "It has been said that doing the thing right is as important as doing the right thing," he said.

PTI