Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday emphasized the imperative necessity for India to end its over-reliance on other countries and go confidently in the direction of self-reliance.
In a public rally in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, his comment came moments after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation mandating firms to pay an annual fee of $100,000 per H-1B worker visa.
In his speech, the Prime Minister reiterated his Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) vision and spoke of the initiatives by the government to reinforce the maritime sector, which he mentioned as a sector with huge potential for the nation.
He also noted that the “greater the foreign dependence, the greater, the nation’s failure,” calling attention to the significance of self-reliance in India. PM also said that becoming Atmanirbhar is essential to maintain global peace, stability, and prosperity, especially in a country with the world's largest population must become Atmanirbhar,” he added.
“We have no major enemy in the world. Our only real enemy is our dependence on other countries. This is our biggest enemy, and together we must defeat this enemy of India, the enemy of dependence,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also revealed future reforms in port handling to ease trade. "We are going to have new reforms for the Indian ports. 'One Nation, One Document' and 'One Nation, One port process' will make trade easier,” he clarified.
He urged for a broader production base in the nation, stressing, "From chips to ships, we must make everything." He also claimed that "There is only one medicine for all problems of India and that is atmanirbharta (self-reliance)."
Emphasizing the pivotal position of the maritime industry, Modi referred to ports as the "backbone of the nation." He identified a crucial government decision that considers large ships as infrastructure, one that he added would make India's rise as a global maritime powerhouse even stronger. "India's ports are the backbone of our nation's rise as a global maritime powerhouse," he said.
Responding to a sharp criticism of earlier Congress-led governments, the Prime Minister stated that such governments suppressed India's capabilities by adopting restrictive measures like the licence raj. To mark India's increasing capabilities, he mentioned the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, constructed from Indian-made steel. "More than 40 ships and submarines have been introduced, and except for a few, all of them have been made in India," he said.
He also brought into focus the nation's immense reliance on overseas shipping services, emphasizing the financial cost it entails. "India paying ₹6 lakh cr yearly to foreign firms to ship goods across the world is almost equal to our defence budget." Modi noted.
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