Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underscored the need for self-reliance, particularly in sectors like energy, semiconductors, and critical minerals, to avoid being vulnerable to the “weaponisation” of resources and even territory being done by some other countries. Modi also called for accelerating the pace of reforms to make India a developed country by 2047. The roadmap Modi laid out from the ramparts of the Red Fort on India’s 80th Independence Day centred around energy security, advanced technology, semiconductors, manufacturing, and exports.
The Prime Minister identified energy security as a critical need of the hour, emphasising that a world powered by chips, artificial intelligence (AI), and data centres requires massive and reliable energy supply. He also asked Indian companies to aspire to be counted among the largest in the world, and micro, medium, and small enterprises (MSMEs) to make greater use of the market access provided by India’s free-trade agreements (FTAs) with other countries to reach global markets.
Modi also outlined a seven-point growth framework ‘Sapt Dhara’ for the next five-seven years, with focus on manufacturing, agriculture and food production, technology and innovation, infrastructure and connectivity, defence, green and blue economy, and India’s soft power.
Self-reliance, with a focus on domestic manufacturing and production to cut import-dependence in key areas of the economy, has been an enduring theme for the Modi government over the past few years as the world went through multiple crises — like the Covid pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, global trade tensions, and the conflict in West Asia — that adversely impacted global trade and supply chains.
Modi said that while there may be many things available in the world that are cheaper and can be obtained faster, relying on imports doesn’t build India’s capabilities, and therefore, the country must strengthen its own capacities and protect its interests. He also said that over the last decade, it seems as if the world has stopped talking about globalisation altogether.
“There was a time when I was talking about self-reliance, some people sitting in air-conditioned chambers and thinking were telling us what will happen to globalisation…The voices of globalisation that used to come from have stopped, they cannot be heard. Every nation has turned its focus to addressing its own specific challenges; however, regrettably, during this period of crisis, some have engaged in the game of weaponising resources to assert their dominance. The world is currently intent on weaponising whatever assets it possesses. Resources such as petrol, diesel, fertilisers, medicines, and technology chips are being weaponised; indeed, even territory itself is being weaponised,” the Prime Minister said.
Although Modi didn’t name any country, the mention of petrol, diesel, fertilisers, and territory is being seen as indicative of the effective closure of the maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Israel conflict with Tehran. The trade artery is important for India, as about 40% of the country’s oil imports, over 50% of its natural gas imports, and 90% of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports came through the Strait of Hormuz before the war began.
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“It is now difficult to run the new world without energy, and therefore, whether it is chips, AI or data centres, we will need electricity in very large quantities. Energy security is the need of the hour, and therefore, we have already taken a series of strong steps in this direction. One major means of ensuring energy security is nuclear energy. By passing the SHANTI Act in Parliament, we have paved the way towards a new goal. By 2047, we are working towards a target of 100 gigawatts of nuclear power. Within this very decade, we have set a target of starting five new nuclear reactors,” Modi said, adding that India has crossed an important milestone by mastering the fast breeder nuclear technology, taking a major step towards becoming self-reliant in nuclear fuel.
Modi also said that India is now focussed on offshore oil and gas exploration, after opening up 99% of its coastline — previously designated as “no-go” areas to upstream activities. India depends on imports to meet over 88% of its crude oil requirement and about half of its natural gas needs.
“We have opened up that 99%, which was once designated as a No-Go Area, as a Go-Ahead Area, and we are now moving towards exploring the sea and discovering new reserves. We are making efforts in this direction. Last year, taking an important step in the same direction, we announced Samudra Manthan, and recently, we decided to allocate ₹85,000 crore for this work to accelerate the process,” he said.
On the need to become self-reliant in the semiconductor space, Modi said that in today’s digital world and technology-driven era, the chip’s importance is clear. “Whether it is electronic goods, medical equipment, or transportation systems, chips are indispensable everywhere. The world has reached a point where the entire system could come to a standstill without chips,” he said, adding that India has begun establishing its own semiconductor manufacturing capacity in order to become self-reliant.
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“Three major semiconductor plants have already been started. I have been informed that production from these facilities has already begun to be exported. And I want to tell the people that over the coming seven to eight years, another five, seven, or even eight semiconductor plants are expected to begin operations very soon. This ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ provides us with a great highway toward becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’,” Modi said.
A similar discussion is taking place around critical minerals, as the entire technology sector is dependent on them, the Prime Minister noted. India is working to secure itself in this area as well, he said, adding that critical mineral targets are in place, the National Critical Minerals Mission has been launched, and the last Union Budget announced the Critical Minerals Corridor. Agreements on critical minerals are also being signed with several countries.
Modi said that India needs to develop deeper manufacturing capabilities, build everything from small components to large-scale products, and capture the entire value chain. From design to manufacturing, India must emerge as a trusted hub in the global supply chain by meeting global standards on cost, quality, and scale.
“Our zero-defect precision manufacturing should become our hallmark. I want to say to every manufacturer, every entrepreneur, every MSME, our identity in the global market should be based on credibility and quality. No compromise regarding quality and hence our mantra should be quality, quality, quality. This will become our global brand value,” he said.
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Modi underscored that India has inked FTAs with several countries over the past 12 years, and these FTAs present a huge opportunity for Indian MSMEs. “I would especially like to tell my MSMEs that we should not miss this opportunity. We have to reach the world, every product of India should reach the world market, whether it is our textile, our machinery, our medicines. We should not leave any opportunity. But we have to go beyond the global parameters. We need to offer products that are superior in quality and more affordable than what is currently available worldwide,” the Prime Minister said.
According to Modi, India must become a global innovation hub in the age of AI, quantum technology, space, robotics and data centres, and not merely turn the country into a market for the world. He said that India has already demonstrated its capabilities through UPI and digital public infrastructure, and should now take its public technologies “to every corner of the world”.
Modi asked why India should not have 50 companies in the Fortune 500 within the next decade. He also said that an Indian bank should be among the world’s top five banks and one or two Indian pharmaceutical companies should find a place among the world’s five biggest pharma companies. He also called for Indian law firms, rating agencies, consulting firms and accounting firms to emerge among the world’s leading firms, Indian technology companies to become global leaders, and Indian brands to become identities that attract the world.
The Prime Minister said that a quarter of the 21st century has already passed and the next 25 years are of immense importance, which will require a change in work culture, thinking, and pace of work. The work that has not been done in the past five-seven decades will have to be done in the five-seven years, he added. Modi emphasised that reforms are not a matter of compulsion or a mere “buzzword,” but are born out of “conviction”. He said that the nation has embarked on a “Reform Express” and is moving toward “next-level reforms”.
