The coronavirus pandemic could become the turning point for India to become self-reliant and turn the crisis situation into an opportunity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today. Addressing the 95th annual plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), he urged India Inc to seize the opportunity.

“India is facing a lot of challenges, be it Covid-19 pandemic, locust swarms invasion, cyclone Amphan, mild tremors, and recently the gas well explosion in Assam's Tinsukia. Corona pandemic would be the turning point for all of us as India becomes self-reliant due to this crisis. Time has come to become self-reliant and we must turn this crisis into an opportunity,” Modi said via video conferencing.

He added that India Inc must not take a conservative approach. “It’s time for bold decisions and bold investments. It's time to prepare a globally competitive domestic supply chain,” Modi said.

He said it is time to make every village and district of the country self-reliant.

“People of India have always lived the aspiration to be self-reliant. Crisis has always helped strengthen our will power. Our industries should take advantage of the trust factor developed towards India as the world is now looking for a reliable partner,” Modi said.

Underlining the need for import-substitution, Modi also said that companies and businesses must ensure that India becomes the next exporters' hub.

While he said that bold investments must flow into West Bengal’s manufacturing sector, he pointed out that country’s north-eastern region must be transformed into major hub for organic farming by creating bamboo and organic product clusters.

“The north-east region can be turned into an organic capital. If members of the ICC can think on this line it can snowball into a huge organic movement with a global identity,” he said, adding that Kolkata could emerge as a leader for the entire region..