Indian growth engine re-energised: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said his government had "re-energised" the Indian growth engine and that the country wants to become a manufacturing hub to serve its domestic market as well as exports.

"We have re-energised the Indian growth engine. The credibility of our economy has been restored. India is once again poised for rapid growth and development. It is the only emerging economy where growth rate is rising. The prospects are even better," Modi said in an Op-Ed piece in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

He said that "Make in India" requires urgent creation of new infrastructure. "The substantial enhancement in financing in the federal budget for highways, railways and energy is a step in this direction. Work has begun on the development of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor."

Modi, who is on a two-day visit to Germany, said that through "our 'Act East' and 'Link West' policy, India has the potential of becoming the middle ground for East and West as a manufacturing hub that serves both our vast domestic market and becomes a base for global exports and general well-being".

He said: "My government has pledged a stable and transparent tax regime, reducing corporate taxes and implementing a single Goods and Services Tax in 2016."

The prime minister said he visualised India as a "key engine of global growth".

Modi said: "Our democratic principles and practices are guarantors of stability. We have a free media and an independent judiciary that allows all opinions to be aired without fear."

The prime minister said that India believed in "Rahein Saath Badhe Saath" (stay together-grow together).

"There is no other way forward. Mankind's progress in this century depends on cooperation and collaboration. Conflict is unthinkable. So is poverty which (Mahatma) Gandhi called the worst form of violence," he said.

The Indian prime minister, who is in Germany as part of his three-nation sojourn, said: "Our focus is not merely economic growth but an inclusive development."

Observing that international support and collaboration are equally critical to achieving India's objectives, he said: "I have therefore sought to build a foreign policy which is an integral part of our national development strategy."

"My interactions with leaders of United States, Russia, France, Japan and China have all aimed at creating enduring partnerships with shared stakes in global development and well-being."