India entered chip industry bit late, but will catch up: Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said India's entry into the semiconductor industry was “strong” though a bit late, but the country would soon be self-reliant in the sector and even start exporting.

Addressing an investment summit in Gwalior, he praised the BJP government in the state for the registration of 4.57 lakh MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in just one year.

“We have made a strong entry into the semiconductor industry, although a bit late. Very soon we will not only become self-reliant in the semiconductor sector, but also start exporting,” he said.

Shah stressed it was the BJP that put Madhya Pradesh on the path of development in the real sense. He said leaders of the Opposition (referring to the Congress) had turned it into a BIMARU state, but Shivraj Singh Chouhan removed that tag. Chouhan, who is currently the Union Agriculture Minister, has been the CM of Madhya Pradesh four times.

“Leaders of the Opposition party had turned Madhya Pradesh into a BIMARU state, but it was Shivraj Singh ji who removed that tag, and now Mohan Yadav (the current CM) is taking the state forward with new energy. As a result, Madhya Pradesh will definitely become a developed state,” Shah said. Speaking on the day of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, Shah said it was Vajpayee, who established the principle that a nation could become a nuclear power even for the sake of peace.

“Despite opposition from around the world, he made India a nuclear-armed nation...When infiltrators entered during the Kargil conflict, there was immense pressure from the international community for India to go to global forums and negotiate with Pakistan. However, Atalji firmly declared that we had already made efforts for peace, and we had been deceived. Thus, there could be no talks with Pakistan until every single infiltrator was driven out of the Indian territory,” he said.