India is young and brimming: Modi

In an article that was published in the op-ed section of renowned US daily “Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ)” Thursday edition, Modi reiterated his “Make in India” ambitions once again by saying, “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. 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.”

During his six-day stay in the United States, Modi is going to meet top corporate leaders, business honchos and bosses/CEO’s of 11 Fortune 500 companies including ‪Google and ‪Pepsico.

According to information given by Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday, PM is scheduled to meet top bosses from Google, Boeing, IBM, Goldman Sachs, MasterCard and Pepsi.

Apart from that CEO’s of Carlyle Group, Cargill Group, Citigroup, Merck, Caterpillar, Warburg Pincus, Mastercard and Hospira are also expected to meet Prime Minister.

Ahead of that PM on Thursday reached out to them.

Modi said, “India will pursue its dreams in partnership with our 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. In the coming months, you will feel the difference even before you begin your travel to India.”

Committing himself of changing India’s image, PM said, “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.” He exuded confidence when he said, “India’s journey to prosperity can be a more sustainable and environmentally sensitive one than the path followed by countries that came of age in earlier eras. This is a journey of our choice, rooted in our tradition that worships nature’s bounties.”

Modi noted that there is a high tide of hope for change in India.

"This May, across India’s immense diversity, 1.25 billion people spoke unequivocally for political stability, good governance and rapid development. India has a government with a majority in the Lok Sabha, our lower house of parliament, 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.

Modi remarked that India is on a path of inclusive development, which comprised of skilled education, and opportunity; safety, dignity and rights for those in every section of our society, especially women; a bank account for every Indian; affordable health care within everyone’s reach; sanitation for all by 2019; a roof over every head by 2022; electricity for every household; and connectivity to every village.

He said, “Through these daunting challenges, I draw confidence from countless extraordinary stories of ordinary Indians that I have seen through decades of travel across India. I also strongly believe in the possibilities of technology and innovation to transform governance, empower people, provide affordable solutions for societal challenges and reach people in ways that were unimaginable not so long ago. The number of cell phones in India has gone up from about 40 million to more than 900 million in a decade; our country is already the second-largest market for smart phones, with sales growing ever faster. When I think of the growth in computing power and storage capacity and its miniaturization that the world has witnessed over the past two decades, I am confident that this can be replicated in renewable energy. With solar and wind power, thousands of Indian villages will be able to get access quickly to reliable, affordable and clean energy, without waiting for large, faraway conventional power plants to be built.”