New Delhi, February 24, 2022.

Delivering the inaugural address at the 28th edition of DST-CII India-Singapore Technology Summit, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said that India is now an attractive hub for foreign investments in the manufacturing sector.

The Minister said, with the help of Make in India drive, India is on a path of becoming the hub for hi-tech manufacturing as global giants have either set up or are in process of setting up manufacturing plants in India, attracted by India's market of more than a billion consumers and an increasing purchasing power.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India, with over 1,200 government funded research institutions, proactive policy mechanism, collaboration between Industry & academia, is readying itself for an era of innovation economy. He said, India is on a continuous rising trajectory of innovation and with emerging technologies taking the centre stage of innovation like block chain, nanotechnology, quantum computing, internet of things, artificial intelligence, India aspires to be in the league of top 25 innovation nations.

The Minister said, India is placed 3rd among countries in scientific publication as per NSF database and it has featured within the top 50 innovative economies globally (at 46th rank), as per Global Innovation Index (GII). We have also achieved 3rd Position in term of number of PhDs, in size of Higher Education System as well as in terms of number of Start-ups.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that Singapore is India’s largest trade partner in ASEAN and it is the leading source of Foreign Direct Investment. Data indicates that about 9000 Indian companies are registered in Singapore and more than 440 companies from Singapore are registered in India. He said, Singaporean companies continue to participate in a number of smart cities, urban planning, logistics and infrastructure projects and Singapore is working with several states in preparing Master Plans for townships.