Rajasthan is not only Rising but it is reliable also, Rajasthan is Receptive and knows how to refine itself with time: PM

The Prime Minister  Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit 2024 and the Rajasthan Global Business Expo at  Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre (JECC) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said today was another special day in the journey of success of Rajasthan. He congratulated all the industry and business leaders, investors, delegates to the Rising Rajasthan Global Investment Summit 2024 at the Pink City – Jaipur. He also congratulated the Government of Rajasthan for organising the grand event.

The Prime Minister remarked that business experts and investors were buoyed by the business climate in India. He added that the progress that India has seen with the mantra of Perform, Transform and Reform, is visible in every field. Shri Modi highlighted that India was able to rise to 11th largest economy in the world after 7 decades of Independence, but in just the last decade, India has risen to 5th largest economy in the world. “India’s economy and exports have nearly doubled in the last 10 years”, exclaimed Shri Modi. He added that even the Foreign Direct Investment had increased more than two times in the last decade in comparison with the decade before 2014. He further noted that the infrastructure expenditure of India had increased to Rs 11 Trillion from nearly Rs 2 trillion.

“India’s success showcases the true power of democracy, demography, digital data and delivery”, exclaimed the Prime Minister.  He added that the success and empowerment of Democracy in a diverse country like India is a great achievement in itself. The Prime Minister remarked that the welfare of humanity while being a democratic nation is at the core of the philosophy of India. He added that it was the basic character of India. He lauded the people of India for exercising their democratic rights and ensuring a stable Government in India. Shri Modi hailed the demography that is the youth power for taking forward these ancient traditions of India. He remarked that India was going to be among the youngest countries in the world for many years to come and India will have the largest pool of youth as well as the largest skilled youth group. He further added that the government was undertaking several positive steps in this direction.

Shri Modi noted that in the last decade, India’s youth power has added another dimension to our strength and this new dimension was India’s tech power and data power. Emphasising the importance of technology and data in every sector in today’s world, Shri Modi said “This century is tech-driven and data-driven”. He noted that in the last decade, the number of internet users in India has increased by almost 4 times. He further added that new records were being made in digital transactions. The Prime Minister underlined that India was showcasing the world its real power of democracy, demography and data. “India has demonstrated how the democratisation of digital technology is benefiting every sector and community”, said Shri Modi. Citing various digital initiatives of India like the UPI, Direct Benefit Transfer System, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDVC), he said that there are so many such platforms which showcased the power of the digital ecosystem. He added that their huge impact would be evident in Rajasthan as well. Shri Modi expressed his firm belief that development of the country was through the development of the state and when Rajasthan reaches new heights of development, the country will also reach new heights.

Noting that Rajasthan was the largest state in India in terms of area, Shri Modi lauded the people of Rajasthan for their large-heartedness, hard working nature, honesty, will to achieve the toughest goals, their belief in nation first, their inspiration to do anything for the country. He added that the priority of the post-independence governments was neither the development of the country nor the heritage of the country and Rajasthan bore its brunt. He further assured that his government was working on the mantra of development as well as heritage which would benefit Rajasthan greatly.

Highlighting that Rajasthan was not just a rising state, but also a reliable one, the Prime Minister remarked that Rajasthan was receptive and knew how to refine itself with time. He added that Rajasthan was also another name for facing challenges and for creating new opportunities. Shri Modi said a responsive and reformist government elected by the people of Rajasthan was the new aspect added to the R-Factor of Rajasthan. He lauded the Chief Minister of Rajasthan and his entire team had done a great job in a short span of time. Noting that the state government was going to complete its first year in a few days, Shri Modi commended the Chief Minister for his efficiency and commitment in in the rapid development of Rajasthan in various fields like welfare of the poor and farmers, creation of new opportunities for the youth, developmental works like road, electricity, water works.  He also added that the promptness of the government in controlling crime and corruption had brought new enthusiasm among citizens and investors.

Emphasising that it was important to realize the real potential of Rajasthan, the Prime Minister remarked that Rajasthan has a storehouse of natural resources, a network of modern connectivity along with a rich heritage, a very large landmass and a highly capable youth force. He added that Rajasthan had a lot to offer from roads to railways, from hospitality to handicrafts, from farms to forts. This potential of Rajasthan, Shri Modi said, makes the state a very attractive destination for investment. Adding that Rajasthan has the quality of learning and the quality of increasing its potential, Shri Modi remarked that that is why now even in the sandy dunes here, trees are laden with fruits and the cultivation of olives and jatropha is increasing. He highlighted that the Blue pottery of Jaipur, Theva Jewellery of Pratapgarh and textile innovation of Bhilwara had a different glory while Makrana marble and Kota Doria were well known all over the world. He added that the fragrance of Paan Methi of Nagaur was also unique and the state government was working to recognize the potential of every district.

Noting that the large part of India’s mineral reserves was in Rajasthan like zinc, lead, copper, marble, limestone, granite, potash, the Prime Minister said these were the strong foundation of self-reliant India and Rajasthan was a major contributor to India’s energy security. Reminding that India had set a target of creating 500 gigawatt renewable energy capacity by the end of this decade, Shri Modi said  Rajasthan was playing a great role in this too with many of India’s largest solar parks being built here.

Remarking that Rajasthan connected two big centers of economy, Delhi and Mumbai, the ports of Maharashtra and Gujarat with Northern India, Shri Modi noted that 250 kilometers of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor wass in Rajasthan. This, he added, would greatly benefit districts of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Bundi and Kota of Rajasthan. Noting that 300 km of modern rail network like Dedicated Freight Corridor was in Rajasthan, Shri Modi said that this corridor passed through Jaipur, Ajmer, Sikar, Nagaur and Alwar districts. Highlighting that Rajasthan being the center of such big connectivity projects, the Prime Minister said it was an excellent destination for investment with immense possibilities especially for the dry ports and logistics sector. He added that the Government was developing multi-model logistics parks, about two dozen sector specific industrial parks, and two air cargo complexes were being built. This, he further said, would make it easier to set up industry in Rajasthan with further improvement in the industrial connectivity.

Emphasising the huge potential of tourism in India’s prosperous future, the Prime Minister stressed that there were immense possibilities for nature, culture, adventure, conference, destination wedding and heritage tourism in India. He added that Rajasthan was a major centre on India’s tourism map and it had history, heritage, vast deserts and beautiful lakes with diverse music and cuisine which would suffice the needs of Tour, Travel and Hospitality Sector. He further added that Rajasthan was one of those select places in the world where people would want to come for weddings and to make life’s moments memorable. Shri Modi noted that there was a lot of scope for wildlife tourism in Rajasthan and cited Ranthambore, Sariska, Mukundra Hills, Keoladeo and many such places which are a treat for wildlife enthusiasts. The Prime Minister was pleased that the Rajasthan government was connecting its tourist destinations and heritage centres with better connectivity. He added that the Government of India had also started schemes related to different theme circuits and noted that around 5 crore foreign tourists came to India between 2004 and 2014, whereas more than 7 crore foreign tourists have come to India between 2014 and 2024 despite the Covid affected period for three to four years.Shri Modi stressed that despite Tourism coming to a standstill during the Covid pandemic period, the number of tourists coming to India had increased to a great extent. He noted that the facility of e-visa to India extended to the tourists of many countries had helped the foreign guests a lot. Noting that today the domestic tourism in India was also creating new records, the Prime Minister said that schemes like Udan Yojana, Vande Bharat trains, Prasad scheme had benefited Rajasthan. He added that Rajasthan also benefited from programs like Vibrant Village of the Government of India. Shri Modi urged the citizens to Wed in India which would also benefit Rajasthan. He said that there was a huge potential to expand Rajasthan’s heritage tourism, film tourism, eco-tourism, rural tourism, border area tourism. The Prime Minister urged the investors that their investment in these areas would strengthen Rajasthan’s tourism sector and also help them grow their business.

Touching upon the existing challenges related to global supply and value chain, the Prime Minister said that today the world needed a system which would function unhindered and uninterrupted even during the biggest crisis. For this, he added, that  it was imperative to have a large manufacturing base in India which was not only necessary for India, but also for the world economy. Shri Modi remarked that India had taken a pledge of self-reliance in manufacturing, understanding this responsibility. He added that India was emphasizing on low cost manufacturing under its Make in India program and India’s petroleum products, medicines and vaccines, electronics goods and the record manufacturing benefited the world a lot. Shri Modi noted that about eighty four thousand crore rupees worth of exports have been made from Rajasthan in the last year which included engineering goods, gems and jewellery, textiles, handicrafts, agro food products.

Emphasising the continuously increasing role of the PLI scheme in increasing manufacturing in India, the Prime Minister said that today there was a lot of enthusiasm in the sectors of Electronics, Specialty Steel, Automobiles and auto components,Solar PVs, Pharmaceutical drugs. He added that the PLI Scheme had led to an investment of about Rs 1.25 lakh crore, products worth about Rs 11 lakh crore being made and an increase in exports by Rs 4 lakh crore. He noted that lakhs of youth were employed newly. The Prime Minister stressed that Rajasthan too had prepared a good base for the automotive and auto component industry with a lot of potential for electric vehicle manufacturing. He added that necessary infrastructure required for electronics manufacturing was also available in Rajasthan. Shri Modi urged the investors to definitely explore the manufacturing potential of Rajasthan.

Highlighting that Rising Rajasthan was a great strength, the Prime Minister said that Rajasthan was one of the top 5 states in India in terms of MSMEs. He added that a separate conclave was also going to be held on MSMEs in the ongoing summit. Shri Modi noted that there are more than 27 lakh small and micro industries in Rajasthan with more than 50 lakh people working in small industries. He added that this had the potential to change the fate of Rajasthan. Shri Modi was pleased that a new MSMEs policy was introduced by the Government within a short time. He added that the Government of India was also continuously strengthening MSMEs through its policies and decisions. “India’s MSMEs are not only strengthening the Indian economy but are also playing a significant role in empowering the global supply and value chains”, said the Prime Minister. Recollecting the pharma-related supply chain crisis during the Covid pandemic, Shri Modi underscored that India’s pharma sector helped the world due to its strong base. Similarly, he urged to make India a strong base for manufacturing of other products and said that our MSMEs would play a major role in this.

Underling the Government’s efforts to change the definition of MSMEs so that they get more opportunities for growth, Shri Modi said the central government had linked about 5 crore MSMEs to the formal economy, which had eased their access to credit.

Adding that the Government had also started a Credit Linked Guarantee Scheme, the Prime Minister said small industries were given assistance of about Rs 7 lakh crore under the scheme. Stressing that in the last decade, the credit flow for MSMEs had more than doubled, Shri Modi said while it was about Rs 10 lakh crore in 2014, today it was more than Rs 22 lakh crore. He added that Rajasthan had also been a big beneficiary of this and this growing strength of MSMEs would propel Rajasthan’s development to new heights.

“We have embarked on a new journey of self-reliant India”, said the Prime Minister. He added that the vision of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan was global and the impact was also global. Shri Modi underscored that they were moving ahead with a whole of Government approach at the Governmental level. He added that the Government was promoting every sector and every factor for industrial and manufacturing growth. Shri Modi expressed confidence that this spirit of Sabka Prayas will create a developed Rajasthan and a developed India.

Concluding his address, Shri Modi urged all the investors to take up the resolution of Rising Rajasthan. He also urged the delegates from across the globe to explore Rajasthan and India, which would be an unforgettable experience for them.

The Governor of Rajasthan Shri Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shri Bhajanlal Sharma, Ministers, MPs, MLAs, industry leaders and other dignitaries were present at the event.