PM attends Aditya Birla Group Golden Jubilee Celebrations in Thailand

This is the best time to be in India: PM Thailand 4.0 is complementary to India’s priorities and offers significant opportunities of partnerships: PM Commerce and Culture have power to bring the world closer: PM Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the celebrations marking 50 years of operation of Aditya Birla Group in Thailand today. Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla, expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for joining the Group’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations in Thailand. Addressing the gathering of Government officials and industry leaders, the Prime Minister congratulated the team of the Aditya Birla Group for their commendable work which has led to creation of opportunities and prosperity for many. Talking about the strong cultural linkages between India and Thailand, he said commerce and culture have inherent power to unite and bring the world closer. Transformative Changes in India Prime Minister shared several success stories of the government in the last five years. He said that transformative changes have been possible by breaking routine and working in mission mode. What was previously considered impossible is now considered possible and therefore, this is the best time to be in India. Prime Minister highlighted that India has jumped 79 places in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings in last 5 years – from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2019, which reflects commitment to reforms to make business environment better. He also stated that on World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, India’s ranking has improved from 65 in 2013 to 34 in 2019. Provision of comfort, convenience and safety through better roads, connectivity, cleanliness and improved law & order has resulted in foreign tourist arrivals increasing by up to 50%. Stating that money saved is money earned and energy saved in energy generated, Prime Minister talked about plugging leakages and improving efficiency through Direct Benefit Transfer scheme which has resulted in saving of 20 Billion Dollars so far. He also talked about distribution of energy efficient LED lights which has also reduced carbon emissions. India: An attractive destination for investment Calling India one the most people friendly tax regimes, Prime Minister highlighted recent steps including lower tax burden on middle class, starting faceless tax assessment to remove scope of harassment, corporate tax rate cut. He said that the introduction of GST has made the dream of economic integration a reality, adding that government is committed to make it more people friendly. All these steps have made India one of the most attractive destinations for investment reflected in the country being among the top 10 FDI destinations as per UNCTAD. Complementarity with Thailand 4.0 Prime Minister talked about the dream of making India a 5 trillion dollar economy and highlighted how the economy has jumped from about 2 trillion dollars in 2014 to 3 trillion in 2019. Talking about the Thailand 4.0 initiative of transforming Thailand into a value based economy, he said that it is compatible with and complementary to India’s priorities Digital India, Skill India, Swachh Bharat Mission, Smart Cities, Jal Jeevan Mission etc. and offers significant opportunities for partnership. He added that both the countries should take advantage of geo-political closeness, commonality of culture and goodwill to enhance business partnerships further. Aditya Birla Group in Thailand 22 years before the Indian economy was formally opened, Shri Aditya Vikram Birla made a pioneering foray into Thailand by setting up a spinning unit. Today, the group has catapulted to become one of the largest enterprises in Thailand with a $1.1 billion diversified business. The Aditya Birla Group’s presence in Thailand through its nine state-of-the-art plants, spans diverse sectors such as textiles, carbon black and chemicals.