India must turn global crises into opportunities, strengthen supply chains: JP Nadda

Surat: Union Minister JP Nadda on Saturday said India must convert prevailing global uncertainties into opportunities to build domestic strength, calling for higher manufacturing capacity, resilience and self-reliance to achieve the goal of a "Viksit Bharat" by 2047.

Addressing the valedictory function of the two-day Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference for south Gujarat, Nadda said recent global developments underline the need to reduce strategic dependencies and strengthen supply chains.

"The recent global uncertainty is an indication that we must turn crises into opportunities. We must give maximum attention to our manufacturing sectors through regional conferences," he said.


The Union health minister said economic strength is not just about growth, but also about resilience, self-reliance and strategic autonomy.

India must convert global uncertainty into domestic strength, and "build and innovate more within the country, and reduce critical vulnerabilities," he said.

Nadda noted that the pathway to a developed India by 2047 requires "sustained high growth, deeper industrial capacity, an expansion of exports, and stronger integration into global supply chains".

He also stressed the need to resolve issues such as supply chain disruptions, technological controls and resource choke points.

Speaking about governance, the Union minister compared the present government's approach to industries with the mindset that prevailed before the launch of the Vibrant Gujarat initiative in 2003 under then chief minister Narendra Modi.

"If you recall, at the beginning of the 21st century, the relationship between industrialists, politicians, and bureaucrats was very distant. People viewed industrialists with suspicion, wondering, 'What is their hidden agenda? What do they want to take from us?'" he said.

He claimed that at the time, politicians and bureaucrats often thought about creating hurdles for businesses.

Nadda said that the first Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2003 marked a paradigm shift.

"From there, a new thought process developed, with focus on dialogue, discussion, investment, MOUs, removing bottlenecks, and working hand in hand," he said, adding that the model has since been replicated by states including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Karnataka.

Highlighting outcomes of the south Gujarat conference, Nadda said the region is poised for rapid growth.

He said that the two-day deliberations at the south Gujarat conference have generated "confidence, ambition, and energy" for the next phase of development.

"Very meaningful and grounded discussions have taken place, which I believe will certainly yield very good results," he added.

Nadda lauded Gujarat's economic performance, saying that the state has emerged as a globally competitive engine of growth.

"Today, the nation and the world look at Gujarat as a globally connected, competitive economic engine," he said, attributing the transformation to policy continuity, improved connectivity, and a strong focus on quality competitiveness.

He described south Gujarat as a strategic economic hub with global relevance, referring to Surat's prominence in diamond cutting and polishing and textiles, as well as the industrial ecosystems in Bharuch, Dahej and Ankleshwar, spanning chemicals, fertilisers, energy, food processing and MSMEs.

Nadda further said that India's growing credibility as an investment destination is the result of closer collaboration between government and industry.

"To ensure our economy, state, and nation grow, we brought together the very industries we once kept at a distance, worked with them to remove bottlenecks, and moved forward together," he said.

He pointed to large-scale initiatives such as GIFT City, the Statue of Unity, the Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed Rail and renewable energy parks as outcomes of this approach, combining economic growth with global ambition.