People used to mock 'Make in India'; country struggling with 2G now has 5G in each district: PM Modi roasts Cong at IMC 2025

PM Narendra Modi

Taking a dig at the Opposition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said when initially he used to talk about "Make in India” people used to make fun of it.

PM Modi inaugurated India Mobile Congress 2025 at New Delhi’s Yashobhoomi on Thursday.

“When I talked about "Make in India” initially, people used to make fun. They asked how India would make technologically advanced things. The country answered. The country that once struggled with 2G now has 5G in almost every district,” said PM Modi while addressing the event.

PM Modi also said India recently  launched its own 4G stack. "This is a major indigenous achievement. India has now become one of the five countries in the world that has this capability," said PM Modi.

He also said  India's 4G stack is "export-ready". "It will also become a means of India's business outreach. India's tech revolution has progressed rapidly in the last 10 years," the PM said.

What is Make in India?

Launched in September 2014, the Make in India initiative is a flagship programme of the Centre. It is aimed at transforming the country into a global manufacturing hub.

It seeks to boost domestic production, attract foreign investment, and reduce dependence on imports by encouraging both Indian and international companies to manufacture their products within India. The campaign covers 25 key sectors, including automobiles, defense, electronics, textiles, and renewable energy, and emphasises ease of doing business, innovation, skill development, and infrastructure growth. Over the years, Make in India has been credited with driving record FDI inflows, promoting local enterprise, and strengthening India’s position in global value chains, even as challenges such as bureaucratic delays and uneven state-level implementation persist.

2-G scam during  UPA era

The 2G spectrum allocation case, often referred to as the 2G scam, has been one of the most  contentious political in India's recent history. The case revolves around the allocation of 2G mobile telecommunication licenses to private companies during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's second term (2009–2014) . The "scam" involved allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and a significant loss to the government exchequer. According to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), the scam allegedly caused a notional loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the Indian national exchequer.However, a trial court acquitted all the accused in 2017 due to a lack of evidence.

However, the case has been repeatedly highlighted by the BJP during the 2014 general election campaign as the hallmark of corruption in the then UPA regime.