Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently delivered the inaugural address at FICCI’s 93rd Annual General Meeting and Annual Convention via video conferencing.
The Prime Minister complimented the Indian private sector for not only meeting the domestic needs but also for its capability to establish strong brand India globally.
By removing the walls separating various sectors of the economy there will be new opportunities for everyone, especially the farmers who will get new options. Investment in technology, cold storage and the agri-sector will benefit farmers.
The Prime Minister called for investing energy in finding ways to make agriculture, service, manufacturing and social sectors complement each other. Organisations like FICCI can be both bridge and inspiration in this endeavour.
“India has market, manpower and also the capability to work in mission mode,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister cited success of financial inclusion through the trinity of J-A-M (JanDhan, Aadhar and Mobile).
He dwelled on the steps to help the farmers and the agri-sector at length . Modi said, “through policy and intention, the government is committed to the welfare of the farmers”.
Noting the increasing vibrancy of the agri-sector, Modi talked of new alternative available to the farmers to sell their produce outside the mandis, modernisation of mandis and option of selling produce on electronic platform.
He pointed out that private sector investment in agriculture is not up to the mark. He said in the fields of supply chain, cold storage and areas like fertilisers etc, both interest and investment of the private sector is needed.
Making a strong pitch for the positive change happening in the rural, semi-rural and tier-2 and tier-3 cities, the Prime Minister invited the senior business and industry leaders to take benefit of the opportunities in such areas. He informed that number of the internet users in the rural areas has surpassed the cities and more than half of India’s start-ups are in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.