Money belongs to someone, says PM Narendra Modi on Elon Musk's India plans

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that investments from around the world are welcome, but the products must come from the essence of the country's soil and its citizens must be involved in the manufacturing process.

Prime Minister Modi, in an interview with ANI ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, asserted that anyone who wants to invest in India can do so, but it has to be produced by Indians so that young people can get opportunities. 'job.

“I want investments to come to India because in India it doesn't matter who invested money, (but) the sweat spent in the work must be that of our own people. The product must have the essence of our soil, so that our youth in the country will have employment opportunities,” PM Modi said, to a question on the possible entry of Elon Musk’s Tesla and Starlink in India.

During the interview, the Prime Minister was asked about Elon Musk's public statements that the latter was a fan of Prime Minister Modi.

To this, Prime Minister Modi responded by saying that Musk was a supporter of India.

“Look, the first thing that says Elon Musk is a Modi supporter is one thing, basically, he's an India supporter. And I just met him. It's not like that,” a- he declared.

PM Modi also recalled his visit to Musk's factory in 2015. The PM said Musk canceled his pre-scheduled engagement and met him.

“He showed me everything in his factory. And I understood his vision thanks to him. I went there earlier (to the United States in 2023) and I met him again. And now he is about to come to India,” PM Modi said.

Elon Musk is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India later this month, according to a post on X by the Tesla chief. Musk is widely expected to unveil a significant investment plan in India. However, the final schedule for Musk's trip to India has not yet been confirmed.

Earlier this month, Musk had said that India, like every other country, should have electric cars and it would be a natural progression for his company to supply Tesla electric vehicles to India.

“India is now the most populous country in the world, in terms of population. India should have electric cars, like every other country has electric cars. It is a natural progression to provide Tesla electric vehicles in India,” Musk said in an X Spaces. session with Nicolai Tangen, Managing Director of Norges Bank Investment Management.

In his interview with ANI, Prime Minister Modi said that India has made a commitment to the world that the country is moving very quickly in the field of electric vehicles and companies must come and invest here.

Describing the growth of India's electric vehicle sector, PM Modi explained how sales of electric vehicles have increased from just 2,000 in 2014-15 to 12 lakh in 2023-24.

“Not 2,000 units, but 12 lakhs units were sold in 2023-2024. This means that a network of such a large charging station has been created. This has helped the environment and we have made policies about this,” said the Prime Minister.

“We told the world that India is moving very fast in electric vehicles. If you want to do manufacturing, you should come,” he added.

This increase in electric vehicle sales can be attributed to factors such as government incentive schemes such as PLI, infrastructure development including electric vehicle charging points, growing consumer interest and efforts of the government to achieve the ecological objective.

Not just electric vehicles, PM Modi also spoke about how global companies like Google, Apple and Samsung are investing in India.

The Prime Minister noted that India is now practically present in every field and the country wants people to transfer technologies with it. “We want people to transfer the technology,” he said.

Making strong arguments in line with his government's flagship 'Make in India' initiative, he said he did not agree that Indian wheat should be exported and then buy the final bread from abroad for its consumption.

“We want people to invest in capital. We want young people in our country to find jobs. I don't agree with the idea that my country's wheat should be exported and we should buy wheat bread abroad I will not do this. Whatever I do “I will do it in my country. I will do it for the good of my country. And I also make policies for this, I do it with courage,” he explained.

The Tesla chief's visit to India appears to have been fast-tracked in the wake of India's new electric vehicle policy, where various incentives are being offered for setting up manufacturing units in India.

The new electric vehicle policy has called for a minimum investment threshold of Rs 4,150 crore ($500 million) and encouraging manufacturers to achieve significant levels of national value added (DVA), the government requires that by third year of establishment of the manufacturing unit, at least 25 percent of the parts used to manufacture the vehicles must come from the country. This level of localization is expected to reach 50 percent by the fifth year of operation.

Under the new electric vehicle policy, for vehicles worth $35,000 or more, a 15% customs duty will be imposed for five years if the manufacturer builds manufacturing facilities in India in a period of three years.

The total number of electric vehicles allowed for import under the policy will be limited based on the investment made or a maximum value of Rs 6,484 crore, whichever is lower. If the investment exceeds $800 million, a maximum of 40,000 electric vehicles can be imported, with a maximum of 8,000 per year. Unused import limits can be carried over.

It has been reported that Tesla has stepped up its efforts to strengthen its presence in the Indian market and is actively looking for a suitable location to set up an advanced manufacturing plant.

The governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat have offered lucrative land deals to Tesla for establishing an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant, signaling a major breakthrough in India's electric mobility landscape.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)