New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday called on the Austrian business stakeholders to look at the fast-unfolding opportunities in India, as the country moves to become the third-largest economy in the world over the next few years.
PM is on an official visit to Austria and with this he became the first Indian leader after 41 years to be visiting Austria. The last Prime Ministerial visit from India to Austria took place over 40 years ago.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, on Wednesday jointly addressed a group of leading Austrian and Indian CEOs from diverse sectors including infrastructure, automobile, energy, engineering and start-ups.
Both leaders acknowledged the role played by the industry leaders in strengthening bilateral relations and promoting economic cooperation between India and Austria. The leaders noted that trade and investment between the two countries has been increasing over the years and called for realising the full potential of the India-Austria partnership through greater collaboration.
He noted that India had made transformative progress in the last ten years, and would continue on the same path given its strengths of political stability, policy predictability and its reform-oriented economic agenda. He emphasised on the steps taken by his government to improve the 'Ease of Doing Business' that was attracting global majors to India.
Further, talking about Indian economic growth and transformation, he noted India’s success in the field of start-ups, in the creation of the next-generation infrastructure, and its commitment to forge ahead on the green agenda.
He also mentioned that the start-up bridge set up between India and Austria would yield substantial results. In this regard, he suggested that the two countries should come together and organise a joint hackathon. He also spoke about the success of Digital Public Infrastructure in the country and measures taken to improve connectivity and logistics.
Given India’s strengths, the Prime Minister urged Austrian majors to leverage the Indian economic landscape for high-quality and cost-effective manufacturing under the 'Make In India' programme both for domestic and international markets and as a global supply chain destination.
In this context, the Prime Minister spoke about India's Production Linked Incentive scheme to attract global manufacturing companies in the fields of semiconductors, medical devices, and solar PV cells, among others. He noted that India's economic strengths and skills and Austrian technology were natural partners for business, growth and sustainability.
He invited Austrian businesses to utilise the investment opportunities in India and be a part of India’s stellar growth story.
