India's biggest adversary is dependence on other nations: PM Modi

He was speaking at the 'Samudra se Samriddhi' event, where the PM inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development works worth over Rs 34,200 crore in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. 

PM Modi reiterated that greater foreign dependence leads to greater national failure. "For global peace, stability, and prosperity, the world's most populous country must become self-reliant." He cautioned that reliance on others compromises national self-respect.  

The remarks came amid heightened tensions with the United States, particularly over ongoing trade hurdles, tariff disputes, and the recent presidential proclamation signed by US President Donald Trump, which increased the H-1B visa application fee to USD 100,000. 

India is the beneficiary of almost 75 percent of those permits issued annually by the US government. 

According to industry experts, such a massive hike in H-1B visa fees would disproportionately affect companies that sponsor the largest number of visas. These organisations include major technology firms and large IT consulting companies, such as Amazon, Cognizant, Microsoft, Apple, TCS, Wipro, Intel, Infosys, Walmart, and many others.

These companies rely heavily on Indian tech talent to fill roles in software development, AI, and data science. Such a move might pivot their hiring away from international recruitment and focus more on domestic talent pipelines, drastically impacting the Indian IT talent. 

PM Modi asserted that the future of 140 crore Indians cannot be left to external forces, nor can the resolve for national development be based on foreign dependency. He stressed that the future of the coming generations must not be put at risk. 

He declared that the solution to a hundred problems is one—building an Atmanirbhar Bharat. To achieve this, India must confront challenges, reduce external dependence, and demonstrate true self-reliance. 

"If India is to become a developed nation by 2047, it must become self-reliant, there is no alternative to self-reliance, and all 140 crore citizens must commit to the same resolve—whether it is chips (semiconductor) or ships, they must be made in India", emphasised the PM, during his speech in Gujarat.

He further urged citizens to remember that whatever they buy should be indigenous, and whatever they sell should also be indigenous. 

Addressing shopkeepers, PM Modi encouraged them to display posters in their shops reading: "Say with pride, this is Swadeshi." He concluded by stating that this collective effort will transform every festival into a celebration of India's prosperity, and extended his best wishes to all on the occasion of Navratri.