By TIOL News Service

PUNE, FEB 15, 2015: THE Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, yesterday said that the world is taking note of India's GDP growth, which has risen to 7.4 percent - and added that experts are now describing India as the fastest growing economy in the world. He said that he expects this to rise even further, and that the 21st century would be Asia's century, with India playing a key role in it.

Inaugurating GE's multi-modal manufacturing facility at Chakan, Pune, the Prime Minister said there were immense possibilities for manufacturing in India. He said India`s demographic dividend was a magnet to attract investment. He said the Government was working towards creating a skilled talented workforce which would attract the world to India. He said global technology (Vishwa Dhan) and the talent of Indian youth (Yuva Dhan) could together result in a win-win situation for all.

The Prime Minister said the Government was working towards predictability in policies and laws, that would boost confidence of investors.

The Prime Minister said his Government is working towards improving "ease of doing business." He complimented the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Devendra Fadnavis, for doing a lot to improve ease of doing business, and reducing drastically the number of permissions required for setting up industry. He particularly praised the Chief Minister`s initiatives in the hospitality sector.

The Prime Minister congratulated GE for the state of the art manufacturing facility they had set up, and welcomed GE`s announcement for further investment. He said this was a big boost to the 'Make in India' initiative.

The Prime Minister said that in India, water, land and sky - jal thal aur nabh - all had great possibilities in manufacturing. He invited GE, which is already present in land and sky, to also invest in water - implying shipbuilding. He invited GE to invest in defence manufacturing, where FDI has been raised to 49 percent.

The Prime Minister said Pune - which was now being called the "Detroit of India" - had immense potential to emerge as a hub of defence production. He also emphasized that the Railway sector could become an engine of economic growth, and offered huge possibilities.

The Governor of Maharashtra Mr Vidyasagar Rao, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Mr Devendra Fadnavis, and Union Minister Mr Prakash Javadekar were present on the occasion.