Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India is witnessing unprecedented growth in employment and self-employment opportunities and has entered manufacture of drones and defence equipment when most countries are unable to come out of recession after the Covid pandemic.

He was addressing the National Rozgar Mela, via video conferencing, after distributing about 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits in various Central Government departments and organizations.

The Prime Minister said government policies followed today had opened doors for new possibilities and opportunities. India has emerged as the fastest growing economy in the world, and is seen as a “bright spot” when most countries are fighting economic slowdown.

For the youth, he said, there are now areas for employment which did not even exist ten years ago. Giving examples of start-ups and Indian youth’s enthusiasm, the Prime Minister referred to a report that said that start-ups have created more than 40 lakh direct or indirect jobs.

Demand for drones was rising in agriculture and defence sectors, he said. Youth are getting jobs in drones manufacturing and flying. The sports sector has undergone a complete make-over in the last eight-nine years. Stadiums are built and sports academies are being set up, giving new job opportunities. The sports budget has doubled too.

The Prime Minister said “The thinking and approach of Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan go beyond adopting swadeshi and ‘vocal for local’. Aatmnirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is an ‘abhiyan’ of creating crores of employment opportunities from villages to cities.”

There are examples of indigenously made modern satellites and semi-high-speed trains. Mr Modi said that more than 30000 LHB coaches have been manufactured in India in the last 8-9 years. Technology and raw materials for these coaches have created thousands of jobs in India.

Talking about the toy industry, the Prime Minister said that India’s children only played with imported toys for decades. The toys were neither of good quality nor were they designed while keeping in mind Indian children. The government laid quality parameters of imported toys and started promoting the indigenous toy industry.

As a result, the Prime Minister said the face of the toy industry in India has completely transformed and played a key role in creating numerous job opportunities.

Countering the decades-old mindset that defence equipment in India could only be imported, the Prime Minister highlighted that the government changed this approach by trusting indigenous manufacturers which resulted in the armed forces creating a list of more than 300 equipment and weapons that would only be made in India. He said that Rs 15,000 crores worth of defence equipment is being exported all around the world.

Mr Modi also mentioned the strides made in the field of mobile phone manufacturing in the last few years. He said that by encouraging local manufacturing and providing incentives for that, India saved a lot of foreign exchange as India is now exporting mobile handsets along with meeting the local demand.

The Prime Minister highlighted the role of investment in infrastructure in employment generation. He said that higher capital expenditure is creating infrastructure like roads, railways, ports and buildings, and generating new jobs.

He said the railway and aviation sectors had seen unprecedented growth while the health sector had seen the number of medical colleges growing from less than 400 before 2014 to 660 today. Similarly, undergraduate medical seats have grown to more than one lakh from 50,000 in 2014 and more than double the number of doctors graduating today.

The Prime Minister told the new Government appointees that they had got the opportunity to contribute to the development of the country while the nation moves ahead with the goal of becoming a developed India by 2047.