The ongoing decade of the 21st century is a golden period that should be fully utilised and no part of the country should lag behind in making fast progress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

Amid a boycott by the ruling BRS in poll-bound Telangana, Modi laid the foundation stone for several infrastructure development projects worth around Rs 6,100 crore during his visit to the state.

Addressing the gathering at the event here, Modi said today the whole world was coming forward to invest in India. "Today's India is young and filled with lot of energy." He underscored that no part of the country should lag behind in terms of growth.

Noting that Telangana was turning into a hub connecting all neighbouring economic corridors, he said industries and tourism in the state are benefitting from this.

He said even though Telangana is a relatively new state and has completed only nine years of its existence, the contributions of Telangana and its people have been very significant in the history of India.

"The capabilities of Telugu people have always enhanced the capabilities of India," he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted the significant role of the citizens of Telangana in making India the fifth largest economy in the world and expressed confidence in the growth in opportunities as the world looks towards India as an investment destination.

He stressed the need to find new ways to achieve future goals as he pointed out that fast-paced development in India is impossible with obsolete infrastructure.

Pointing out that poor connectivity and expensive logistic costs hinder the progress of businesses, he highlighted the multifold increase in the speed and scale of development by the Union government.

He gave examples of highways, expressways, economic corridors and industrial corridors that are creating a network and said the two-lane and four-lane highways are being converted to four and six-lane highways respectively.

The PM informed that the highway network of Telangana has seen a two-fold rise from 2,500 km to 5,000 km.

He also mentioned that the construction of additional 2,500 km of national highways is under different stages of development.

He also said dozens of corridors that are under construction as part of the Bharatmala Project pass through Telangana and gave examples of Hyderabad - Indore Economic Corridor, Chennai - Surat Economic Corridor, Hyderabad - Panaji Economic Corridor and Hyderabad - Visakhapatnam Inter Corridor.

In a way, the PM continued, Telangana is connecting the surrounding economic centres as well and becoming a hub of economic activity.

Modi emphasised that the increased connectivity in Telangana is directly benefitting the industry and tourism of the state as travelling to heritage centres and places of faith in Telangana is now becoming more convenient.

He also mentioned the agriculture-related industry and the granite industry of Karimnagar and said the efforts of the government are directly assisting them.

Talking about the 'Make in India' campaign and how the manufacturing sector is becoming a major source of employment for the youth in the country, he mentioned the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to encourage manufacturing in the country.

He also touched upon India creating a new record in defence exports this year. He informed that India's defence export, which was around Rs 1,000 crore nine years ago, has crossed Rs 16,000 crore today.

The PM also touched upon Indian Railways setting new records and latest milestones in terms of manufacturing.

He highlighted the buzz around ‘Made in India’ Vande Bharat trains and said Indian Railways has manufactured thousands of modern coaches and locomotives over the years.

Referring to the Railway Manufacturing Unit, Kazipet whose foundation stone was laid today, he said it is a rejuvenation of Indian Railways and Kazipet will become part of the new energy of 'Make in India'.

Due to this, he said, new employment opportunities will be created in this area and every family will be benefitted.

Concluding the address, Modi said this is 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas' (Taking along everyone for the development of all) as he urged the public to take Telangana forward on this mantra of development.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Tourism Minister and newly-appointed president of BJP in Telangana G Kishan Reddy, BJP MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other leaders were present on the occasion.

In his address, Gadkari said Modi has given highest priority to infrastructure development in the country.

He further said Rs 1.10 lakh crore worth of infrastructure projects so far have either been completed or ongoing or to be started in Telangana.

"I am confident that by the end of 2024, Telangana will have projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore in the state," the Union Minister said.

The projects for which foundation stone was laid include a railway wagon manufacturing unit to be developed at a cost of over Rs 500 crore.

Earlier, Modi offered prayers at the famous Goddess Bhadrakali temple in historic Warangal, the erstwhile capital of Kakatiya kingdom.

Alleging that the NDA government at the Centre has been "anti-Telangana" in the last nine years, the state's ruling BRS had said it would "boycott" PM Modi's visit.

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