ET GBS: Make in India is a mission, not a slogan, says Suresh Prabhu

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu said that the biggest challenge before the country is to build an eco-system where investments and innovation in technology lead to increased productivity and also creation of jobs.

Speaking at the ET Global Business Summit on ' Make in India' on Saturday, he said that time had come match good politics with good economics. "Economics is part of overall sociology. Labour intensive production has to be promoted in a big way for sustainable development, but not at the cost of productivity," Prabhu said.

Skilling India and Digital India are equally important, the railway minister said. For him, Make in India is a mission and not just a slogan. Railways, he said, had already issued tenders for 7 billion dollars for world-class locos, referring to two path-breaking contracts with GE and Alstom.

Participation of global community is required to transform railways and transform India."We are developing an unimaginable rail eco system in India. We are making sure that railways pushes economic growth," he said.

Railways was already using technology to bring transparency in operations and tendering processes. In addition to Make in India, Prabhu said that Design in India is equally important since "we lose a lot on IPRs."

When asked about what India stands for him in terms of manufacturing, he said there is no easy solution to that. He stressed on linking manufacturing to farms.

"There is a potential to create a lot of jobs. There is need to create jobs in packaging and logistics with huge benefits," he said.