Manufacturing will be India's focus in next 5 yrs: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Viksit Bharat Strategy Room and NITI for States Platform in New Delhi today, the Minister said the country’s development framework currently stands on four pillars which include physical, digital and social infrastructure, inclusive development, manufacturing and simplification.

India today has implemented the largest inclusive development program anywhere in the history of the world," Vaishnaw said, adding, "Nearly 51 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened in India, which is equivalent to providing benefits to the total population of Europe.”

“Around 11 crore gas connections were provided across the country which is equivalent to changing the cooking behaviour of Japan’s populace,” he said.

He also highlighted that close to 55 billion dollars worth of mobile phone connections were made available in the country. The country 10 years back used to import 98 percent of mobile phones and today it is manufacturing and exporting 99 percent of mobile phones, the Minister added.

“Manufacturing will be the government's focus in the next five years under the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Manufacturing has huge employment potential,” he said.

During the event, the Minister also launched Samarth training modules which will be backed by testing mechanisms to certify the competency of district and block-level officials.

(With UNI inputs)