PM Modi takes veiled dig at Trump’s tariff policy as India’s growth surges

New Delhi, Sep 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday highlighted India’s robust GDP growth in the April-June quarter despite the challenges in the global market arising due to “economic selfishness”.

The Prime Minister’s remark comes in the backdrop of the tariff turmoil triggered by US President Donald Trump's policy, which has led to heightened economic uncertainty in global markets.

Addressing the SEMICON 2025 event here, PM Modi said, “On the one hand, many of the world’s economies are facing uncertainty and challenges related to economic selfishness. Yet, in this environment, Bharat has achieved a remarkable growth rate of 7.8 per cent," he said.

The Prime Minister’s oblique reference to Trump’s tariff policy also comes a day after the joint declaration of the heads of member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which opposed the “unilateral coercive measures, including those of an economic nature, that contravene the UN Charter and other norms of international law, the rules and principles of the World Trade Organisation, damaging the interests of international security, including its food and energy components, negatively affecting the global economy, undermining fair competition, hindering international cooperation and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” the joint declaration states.

The SCO summit, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, adopted a statement on support for the multilateral trading system.

The joint declaration agreed to uphold and strengthen an open, transparent, fair, non-discriminatory and multilateral trading system based on universally recognised international principles and rules, which promote the development of an open global economy.

PM Modi said, "The world trusts India. The world believes in India. And the world is ready to build the semiconductor future in India -- this is the message that Semicon 2025 is sending out to the world," he said.

Affirming that India is moving beyond backend operations and progressing towards becoming a full-stack semiconductor nation, PM Modi reiterated that the day is not far when India’s smallest chip will drive the world’s biggest change.

He stated, “Our journey began late… but nothing can stop us now.”

The Prime Minister informed that CG Power’s pilot plant commenced operations on August 28, just 4-5 days ago. He added that the pilot plant of Kaynes is also about to begin. Test chips from Micron and Tata are already in production. He reiterated that commercial chip production will begin this year, underscoring the rapid progress India is making in the semiconductor sector.

Emphasising that India’s semiconductor success story is not confined to a single vertical or a single technology, PM Modi stated that India is building a comprehensive ecosystem -- one that encompasses designing, manufacturing, packaging, and high-tech devices, all within the country.

He clarified that the Semiconductor Mission is not limited to establishing a single fab or producing a single chip. Rather, India is creating a robust semiconductor ecosystem that will make the nation self-reliant and globally competitive, the Prime Minister added.

PM Modi said that India’s rapid growth is infusing new energy across industries and among every citizen. He affirmed that this trajectory of growth is propelling India swiftly towards becoming the third-largest economy in the world.

Emphasising that in the semiconductor sector, speed matters, PM Modi said, “The shorter the time from file to factory, and the lesser the paperwork, the sooner wafer work can begin.”

He stressed that the government is working with this very approach. The National Single Window System has been implemented, enabling all approvals from both the Centre and states to be accessed on a single platform. As a result, investors have been freed from extensive paperwork, he further added.

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