A beacon of hope for India

PM Narendra Modi relies on progressive mantras to build a transformed India

be it plastics or cars, satellites or agricultural produces" with "zero defect and ze ro effect (on the environmen t)".

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0ne of the potentially most significant developments in lndia in recent rimes bas been the election of arencL:a 11focli's government with the ambitious target of skilling/ ups killing 500 million people in India b y 2022.

Modi has already attracted several billions of dollars in promised invesunenr fr om countries suc h as Japan, Ch in a and the USA , as well as busin esses such as Boeing, IBM, General Electric, Pepsico, Amazon and Facebook. The creation of a new fed eral ministry fo r entrepreneurship and skill development augurs well to fol@ a thumping majority, clearing the way from the crippling Limi cations of coalition poli tics that had plagued the Indian government in recent times. Mocli comes to power w ith arguably wellestablished credentials, o n the back of his success as the premier of the state of Gujarat.

With his election, the political discourse in India has shifted from routine blame-games betwee n parties to focus on the 'development agenda'. There is now a renewed emphasis on

''Modi has launched a campaign of 'Make in India' with the aim to make India the manufacturing hub of the world

Modi also surprised ev erybody b y inviting tbe political heads of India's n eig hbouring countries to his inauguration He followed this by visiting Bhutan an d Nepal in the fi rst few months of assuming power, cl early underscoring the im portance h is goveramenr has p laced on developin g relations in the region. He also ann ounced a slew of ec onomic assistance packages co these countries governance standard s, in cluding qualicy and speed of decision making enabled b y in an apparent effort to dispel concerns regarding India's h egemon ic tendencies in irs ne ighbo urh ood, and also as a e -gover nm ent ini riatives.

His mantra of ' m aximum governa nce and minimum governm ent' has already attracted attentio n in global business and political circles.

In bis meetings with business l eade rs during his recent visit co the U ni ted Scares, PM Modi highlighted how 65 per cem of the Indian population is below the age of 35 (with 50 per c ent below the age of 25), yielding rich 'demograp hic divide n ds' a nd "vith the potential to become the world's leading supplier of ma npower With declining and ageing populatio ns and growing skill gaps in Sc ience, Engin eering and T ech n ology (SET) se cmrs in western c ountries, this may i ndeed become a reality.

The vision and visibility of the Prime Minister of a country is key to how the world perceives that country.

''counter-weight t o China's increasi n g involvement in South Asia

''With the successful a ccompli s hm en t of India's Mars O rb ite r Missio n (]\if OM), Modi urged the India n Space Resea rc h O r ganisation (IS R O) to d evelop a SAARC satellite as a gift to rhe ne ig h bours. He alms ro en large India's satellite-based navigation system footpri n t ro cover all of South Asia, and m share t he fr uits of its technol ogical advancements wi th the developing and th e n eighbouri n g nations which don't en joy the same.

It goes without saying th a t th.is divide nd can quickly turn into a huge liability if enough job oppor tuni ties are nor created Thar is w h y Modi has launched a cam p aign

In that respect, there is no doubt that Modi has the charisma and transformational leadership capabilities, backed by the overwhelming public mandate in the recent parliamentary and state elections

The visio n and visibility of th e Prime Nlinister of a country is key to how the world perceives that country ln that respect, there is no doubt that Modi has the charisma and transformational l eadership capabilities, backed by the over w h elming public mandate in rhe recent parliamentar y and of ']'.fake in India ' with the aim to make India the m anufac turing hub of the world. stat e electio n s

In his Independence Day spee cl1, he invited the world to "come m ake in India,

''While it is still ve ry early to judge the succ ess or otherw ise of PM Modi and h i s gover nment, the signs ar e encouraging.