Sitharaman projects Rajasthan as Make in India destination

Make in India is the flagship project of the NDA govt at the Centre to project India as a conducive destination for manufacturing to global industries

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday urged global investors to focus on Rajasthan, highlighting the importance of taking the Make in India campaign to the states.

Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry's Partnership Summit, Sitharaman said: "The strength of emerging economies lies in the states. We need to identify steps taken at the state-level to ensure that Make in India is not restricted only to Delhi."

Fifty-one countries, 25 trade and economic ministers and multilateral bodies like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are taking part in the two-day event, that began on Thursday.

Make in India is the flagship project of the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre to project India as a conducive destination for manufacturing to global industries. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 25.

On Thursday, Sitharaman also said: "Make in India should happen in the states. In Rajasthan, we have identified the intrinsic strength of the state and we are focussing on that."

The minister is expected to attend bilateral meetings with trade ministers on the sidelines of the event.

Reiterating Modi's idea on how to take the Make in India campaign forward, Sitharaman asked the Rajasthan diaspora to act as brand ambassadors at the various consulates and missions abroad for certain key sectors where the state has maximum potential.

"The PM wants representatives from the states to be at the consulates and embassies abroad to take forward their individual interests in the countries where they are based at so that investments can comes directly to the states," she said.

Sitharaman also highlighted the steps taken by the government to achieve ease of doing business by digitisation of approvals and making more stable policies to make India a favourable destination for investors.