Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged industry to take bold decisions on investment ditching a "conservative approach" due to the pandemic.
Modi also said the era of "command and control" is now gone and the Indian economy is in a "plug and play" mode.
Addressing business leaders at the annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Prime Minister Modi said, "It is not time for a conservative approach. It is time for bold decisions and bold investments. Industry must work on a globally competitive domestic supply chain. Industry needs to help stakeholders in the supply chain and handhold them in the value chain".
The PM, while announcing a COVID-19 stimulus package on 12 May, had also called for a self-reliant economy.
Modi told the captains of industry that the country is fighting multiple challenges along with COVID-19, including floods, a locust attack, and earthquakes. He said the country has to turn this crisis into an opportunity to make India self-sufficient and to reduce its dependence on imports.
“India’s goal of self-reliance has been paramount in the policy and practice of the country. The COVID-19 crisis gave us lessons on how to speed up efforts in that direction", he stated in a virtual address to members of the Chamber in Kolkata.
India went into lockdown mode starting midnight on 24 March and the lockdown was partially lifted on 1 June in a bid to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. But the viral infection tally has climbed to close to 300,000, with over 8,000 deaths.