‘Make in India’ will make tomorrow’s India: Suresh Prabhu

‘Make in India’ will make tomorrow’s India: Suresh Prabhu

New Delhi: India is in the best possible situation in the global market, says Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. Going ahead, he sees domestic demand in India growing. “India is poised in a favourable situation to take benefit of the global scenario,” he adds. Speaking at an Event – Modi Sarkar – Year One Dialogues, he says in the one-year since the Modi government took charge, “we have been working towards removing growth roadblocks.” He says Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Make in India’ is not just to make anything in India, but it is a call for make tomorrow’s India. According to him, China is slowing down due to overcapacity and over investment. Countries such as Japan, China and the US are today looking at markets like India to invest, he adds. Prabhu says it was not easy to change the perception of India as an investment destination. “When we took over, current account deficit (CAD) and fiscal deficit were big challenges,” he says. These factors led to foreign investors shying from investing in India. The government has managed to contain fiscal deficit at 4 percent of GDP for 2014-15 at Rs 5,01,880 crore. The revenue deficit has also been confined to 2.8 percent, beating the Budget target of 2.9 percent for the last fiscal. Speaking about the challenges ahead of the government, Prabhu says agriculture is a key challenge for the government. “Agriculture can never grow at a rate seen in sectors such as services,” he explains. However, he adds that the NDA government will ensure an integrated agriculture market.