'No better time than this': PM Modi invites Dutch companies to design, innovate and manufacture in India

The PM said today's India is a symbol of scale and stability, and no country in the world can match its speed in infrastructure, clean energy, and connectivity.

The Hague: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday invited Dutch companies to design, innovate and manufacture in India, saying the country offers immense opportunities.

In his remarks at the CEO Roundtable, the Prime Minister said today's India is a symbol of scale and stability, and no country in the world can match its speed in infrastructure, clean energy, and connectivity.

This is why India is contributing 17% to global growth, the Prime Minister said.

Emphasising that the government has transformed India's economic DNA through continuous reforms, Modi said that to give policy predictability to the private sector and increase opportunities for them, the country has opened up space, mining, and nuclear energy for the private sector.

"We are continuously reducing compliance and increasing the ease of doing business. We have recently carried out next-generation reforms in taxation, labour code, and governance," he informed the business leaders at the roundtable.

Modi further said manufacturing in India is becoming very cost-effective, and in the services sector it has become the engine of efficiency and innovation on the strength of its talent.

He informed the gathering that all the global technology companies have opened up their global capability centres in India.

"We invite all of you to design and innovate in India. There can be no better time for this than today," Modi said.

Modi also spoke about the India-EU free trade agreement, saying the pact between the world's two largest democratic and responsible powers will become a strong foundation of shared prosperity.

The Prime Minister also said that the two countries are going to make the trusted partnership of India-Netherlands a strategic partnership.

The future of the India-Netherlands partnership is brighter than ever before, Modi added.

Prime Minister Modi, accompanied by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Rob Jetten, also witnessed the signing of an agreement between Tata Electronics and ASML to support the semiconductor Fab in Dholera, Gujarat.

ASML is a Dutch multinational corporation and one of the leading suppliers of high-precision lithography equipment, a critical requirement in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips. Tata Electronics, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, is an Indian electronics and semiconductor manufacturing company which is establishing a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Gujarat.