Make in India a success, claims minister

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 25

World’s largest mobile manufacturing plant is in an Indian city and the country is a leader in manufacturing small car. It produces 23 million motorcycles every year, hence, ‘Make in India’ is a success story. This was stated by Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, here on Tuesday.

Sinha, who was at DAV College, Sector 10, for a lecture on ‘Youth and Evolving # New India’, made a strong pitch for promoting entrepreneurship through the government's flagship programme of 'Make in India'. An alumnus of IIT-Delhi and Harvard, he was recently in the light for garlanding eight convicts in a lynching case in Jharkhand.

“Whether it is the bandwidth or artificial intelligence, our government has taken great steps. 1-GB, which cost Rs 500 four years ago, now costs Rs 10. The citizens are consuming more mobile data than any other country in the world,” said Sinha.

He presented a model of ‘Farm to Frontier’ and said if the country uses science and technology and new business models, only then can we "become a world leader”.

He pointed out in his PowerPoint presentation that even if India grows at 7 per cent for 20 years, the GDP per capita will not cross that of China. “So, we need to leapfrog,” he said.

Airlines responsible for adding flights

At the Chandigarh airport, Sinha said adding flights was the job of the airlines. “It is a commercial decision,” he said. “We are re-carpeting the runway, installing CAT-III, adding aerobridges and improving terminals. Once the facilities are added, the Chandigarh airport can realise its full potential,” he said.       

‘Here to support, not to score'

When questioned about the employment scenario, the minister chose to answer with an obscure analogy. He said: “In the last match between India and Pakistan during the ongoing Asia Cup, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored centuries. Did the umpire score a century? The government is just an umpire. It is you who have to pitch the yorkers. We are here just to support you.”