Bullet trains apart, India needs high-speed growth, says PM Narendra Modi

Apart from bullet trains, India needs high-speed growth, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday while addressing business leaders of India and Japan here with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

The visit of Abe, who arrived here on Friday on a three-day official sojourn, is expected to see progress towards India's first bullet train.

Prime Minister Modi emphasized that he wanted India and Japan to move ahead together, not just in the sphere of high-speed trains, but also for "high-speed growth".

Recalling his Japan visit last year, and the commitment of $35-billion investment made by Japan, Modi said the figure had surprised many at that time, but today, within a short time-span, "unimaginable progress" had been made, and the contours of this investment were beginning to get visible on the ground.

The prime minister said "Make in India" was proceeding in mission mode, not just in India, but also in Japan. He said the "Japan Plus" initiative that was begun last year as a policy experiment, was also doing well.

Modi said recent economic indicators in both India and Japan were extremely encouraging, especially in the light of the global economic slowdown.

Stating that it was clear that India was a land of possibilities, Modi recalled Japan has been a part of many key economic turning points in India. He gave the examples of Maruti car, and the Dedicated Freight Corridor.