NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to seize the opportunities created by the country’s free trade agreements (FTAs) and take Indian products to markets across the world.Addressing the nation on the occasion of India’s 80th Independence Day, PM Modi said India’s growing global stature and the FTAs signed with around 40 countries since 2014 had opened major opportunities for domestic businesses, particularly MSMEs.“We have to reach the world. Everything that India produces should reach the world market,” PM Modi said, highlighting textiles, machinery, pharmaceuticals and seafood as sectors with considerable potential to expand their global footprint.The Prime Minister, however, stressed that Indian businesses would need to meet international standards and focus on quality if they were to compete successfully in global markets.Pointing to the scale of India’s ambitions, PM Modi called for a greater number of Indian companies to emerge as global leaders. He asked why India should not have 50 companies in the Fortune 500 within the next decade and said the country should aim to have an Indian bank among the world’s top five.He also set out ambitions for Indian pharmaceutical companies to feature among the world’s top five, while calling for globally leading Indian firms in sectors such as law, ratings, consulting and accounting.PM Modi said the country’s textile industry, stretching from Ludhiana in Punjab to Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, had the potential to significantly expand its global presence. He also pointed to India’s fisheries and seafood sector as another area that could benefit from the export opportunities created by FTAs.The Prime Minister said India had the talent, capabilities, linguistic strength and a long history needed to compete on the global stage. He urged businesses to build brands that could earn international recognition and turn India’s economic rise into a stronger global corporate presence.
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“India’s technology companies should be a scoreboard in the world,” he said, stressing that the creation of globally recognised Indian brands should be treated as a national goal.The PM also highlighted India’s stable political mandate, vibrant democracy, strong judicial system and constitutional framework, saying these factors had contributed to the country’s growing recognition and respect around the world.
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