Infrastructure, investments will remain focus areas for India: Nirmala Sitharaman
2 min read . Updated: 11 May 2023, 07:58 PM IST
PremiumThe minister said that when there are several factors in India's favour, genuine efforts will help make up for lost opportunities of the past and achieve the goal of a developed nation
New Delhi: Infrastructure building and investments will be key focus areas for India in the next 25 years as the country tries to emerge as a developed nation by 2047, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told business leaders in Japan during a visit, sending a strong message about the business opportunities in India.
The minister said that when there are several factors in India's favour, genuine efforts will help make up for lost opportunities of the past and achieve the goal of a developed nation. Sitharaman said the level of achievement and perfection achieved by the Japanese economy after the devastation in the second world war was inspiring for other nations. Sitharaman is currently on a two-day visit to Japan starting Thursday, to attend the G7 finance and central bank governors meeting.
Referring to India's efforts in the development journey, Sitharaman said that infrastructure - both physical and digital, domestic and foreign investments, innovation and technology use in the lives of people and ensuring every citizen benefits from growth and development are focus areas for India.
Sitharaman referred to the initiatives of the Indian government and said the Union Budget presented by her in February was prepared keeping in mind the needs of the next 25 years.
Sitharaman told investors and business leaders from Japan that India has been easing a lot of restrictions and ensuring overall ease of doing business.
In her address, she also highlighted the government's priority to incentivise and facilitate investments by businesses through the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which was initially introduced for 14 sectors and is now being expanded in areas of semi-conductors and solar components.
Referring to India’s commitment to the greening of the economy and the goals under Nationally Determined Contributions, especially in renewable energy, she said that the country has already achieved, with its own funds, 175 GW of solar energy, and now aims to achieve 300 GW by 2030.
Sitharaman also said that in the area of renewable energy, India has launched a National Hydrogen Mission. The minister said in a tweet referring to her speech that government was skilling people in the fast-developing area of artificial intelligence.
PTI contributed to this story.