Democratic India can be reliable base amid geopolitical shifts, supply chain weaponization: Devendra Fadnavis

"Advanced manufacturing is becoming the new mantra of this era and manufacturing is getting into the next scale with precision, innovation sustainability, automation. AI based technologies are changing the manufacturing sector in a big way," he said, reported PTI.

Manufacturing sector is very important for India, which has become the fourth biggest economy in the world and is on its way to become the third biggest, the CM added, reported PTI.

In an apparent reference to the Iran crisis and its affect on the vital Strait of Hormuz, Fadnavis said, "When supply chains in the world are shifting in a big way due to geopolitical reasons and supply chains are also getting weaponized, a democratic country like India can stand as a reliable base for the global supply chain in such times," reported PTI.

This can also facilitate the Viksit Bharat vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he asserted.

"The industrial park whose foundation stone was laid today is a very important example. Because global capital will only go to such places where there will be plug and play facility, wherein supply chains will be created," Fadnavis said, reported PTI.

Fadnavis frowns on speculative LPG cylinder 'shortage' reports; 'not in interest of country'

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said news reports on the potential shortage of LPG cylinders amid the West Asia conflict are speculative and not in the interest of the country, reported PTI.

He appealed to the media to refrain from speculative reporting, stressing that the Centre is looking into the situation.

Responding to a query regarding news reports about the potential shortage of LPG cylinders, Fadnavis appealed to the media not to create panic or fear among the citizens without any reason, reported PTI.

"Showing speculative reports and discussing hypothetical scenarios leads to panic and confusion, which is not in the interest of the country and society. The Central government has clearly stated this yesterday," he added, reported PTI.

Queried on the timeline for the implementation of a loan waiver announced by him in the Budget 2026-27, Fadnavis said some people are trying to create confusion by claiming that the crop loan write-off won't be implemented by nationalised banks, district banks, or certain credit societies.

"We will grant a loan waiver upto Rs 2 lakh on any bank which extends crop loans. We want to ensure that farmers benefit through this initiative, not banks. We have already announced that the loan waiver will be implemented before June 30. This waiver will be better than the previous such measures," he added.

(With inputs from PTI)

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