Russian President Putin praises India's 'Make in India' initiative for boosting SMEs

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday praised India for establishing "stable conditions" for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), highlighting India's economic programmes.


The Russian president, speaking at the VTB Investment Forum in Moscow, also compared the "Make in India" initiative with Russia's import substitution programme. He also expressed Russia's willingness to set up manufacturing facilities in India, whilst acknowledging the Indian leadership's focus on prioritising national interests.

"Prime Minister Modi has a similar program called Make in India. We are also ready to place our manufacturing site in India. The Prime Minister of India and the Government of India have been creating stable conditions and this is because the Indian leadership has been pursuing India comes first policy and we believe that investments in India are profitable," the Russian President said.

Additionally, Putin discussed the significance of Russia's import substitution programme within the Brics framework, highlighting SME development and the necessity for swift dispute resolution mechanisms for SMEs in Brics+ nations.

He also mentioned the success of new Russian brands replacing Western brands, stating achievements in various sectors including consumer goods, IT, high-technology, and agriculture.

"For us, it has special relevance as part of the import substitution program, we advent of new Russian brands entering our market, which are replacing the brands by Western partners who have voluntarily left our market. And our local manufacturers have been quite successful not only in consumer goods but also in IT and high tech," he said.


"In agriculture, the number of our manufacturers and producers keeps growing. In 1988, the Soviet Union imported grain for $35 billion, and last year, we exported grain to the tune of $66 billion, and this is largely the merit of our farmers and producers. And in all these sectors of the Russian Federation, including high-tech ones, there is an acute need to expand opportunities to sell and export products," he added.

Putin also called for stronger cooperation amongst Brics nations to support SME growth and requested member nations to evaluate primary areas for collaboration during the forthcoming summit in Brazil next year.

"I would ask colleagues of the Brics corporation to analyse the situation on the main areas of cooperation, and we will definitely draw the attention of Brazilian colleagues who will chair Brics next year," he said.

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