Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday set an ambitious target of having 50 Indian companies feature in the Fortune 500, as he called for Indian businesses to expand their global footprint and compete at the highest level.
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on , Modi said India’s economic ambitions must go beyond becoming a large domestic market and focus on creating globally competitive companies.
“Our aim should be to have 50 Indian companies in the Fortune 500,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister’s target comes as he outlined a broader vision for India’s next phase of economic growth, with manufacturing, technology, innovation and global trade emerging as key pillars.
Under what PM Modi called “Shakti ki Sapt Dhara”, or seven streams of strength, manufacturing emerged as one of the key areas that India needs to strengthen.
PM Modi said India must increase production while building the entire value chain domestically — from small components and parts to large and complex finished products.
“We need components as well as complete manufacturing, complex products. From design to manufacturing, India must become a trusted centre of the global supply chain,” he said.
He said Indian manufacturers would have to compete with global standards on three key parameters — cost, quality and scale.
The Prime Minister also called on the manufacturing sector to seize the opportunity to expand its presence in global markets rather than focusing only on domestic demand.
India’s push to become a global manufacturing base comes alongside its growing engagement with international markets. Modi said the country has concluded free trade agreements with 40 countries and that the world has started recognising India’s capabilities.
Modi’s Fortune 500 target reflects a push to take Indian companies from being large domestic players to globally recognised businesses.
He said India must use the strength of its youth and the country’s growing capabilities to achieve in the next five to seven years what could not be achieved in the previous five to seven decades.
Technology and innovation will also play a key role in that ambition. Modi said India must take its digital public technologies to every corner of the world and make Made-in-India 6G available globally.
He also highlighted the expansion of Indian manufacturing over the past 12 years. Defence production has increased nearly fourfold, electronic manufacturing nearly sevenfold and mobile phone production 33-fold, he said.
The Prime Minister’s message was that India’s manufacturing ambition should not stop at assembling products or producing for its own consumers.
Instead, India needs to develop capabilities across the entire production chain and become a reliable supplier to the world.
PM Modi said the country must combine its manufacturing strength with its technology, infrastructure and innovation capabilities to build a stronger global economic position.
The seven areas identified by him include manufacturing, agriculture and food processing, technology and innovation, Gati-Shakti, defence, the green and blue economy, and India’s soft power.
Together, PM Modi said, these areas can give India the strength and momentum to achieve new goals and move towards the vision of a Viksit Bharat.