Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that 1.3 billion Indians have embarked on one mission - to make an "Aatmanirbhar Bharat", a self-reliant India, which seeks to merge the local with the global and ensure India's strengths act as a global force multiplier.

"Time and time again, India has shown that our goal is global good," he said in his special keynote address at the third leadership summit of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

Modi also said that Aatamanirbhar Bharat is about transforming India from being just a passive market to an active manufacturing hub at the heart of global value chains.

"The road further ahead is full of opportunities. These opportunities are in the public and private sector. They cover core economic sectors as well as the social sectors," he said.

On the Covid pandemic, the Prime Minister said that India was among the first in creating a responsive system of lockdowns. "India was among the first to advocate the use of masks and face covering as a public health measure. We were also among the earliest to create public awareness campaigns about social distancing," he said.

Modi also emphasised that medical infrastructure, be it Covid hospitals, ICU capacities and more, was scaled up in record time. "Starting from 1 Covid testing lab in January, we now have around 1,600 labs across the country," he noted.

He also stressed that the current situation demands a fresh mindset, where "the approach to development is human-centric".

"While looking at the way ahead, we should keep our focus on ramping up our capacities, securing the poor, future-proofing our citizens. This is the path India is taking," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that this pandemic has also shown the world that the decision on developing global supply chains should be based not only on costs, but also on trust. "Along with affordability of geography, companies are now also looking for reliability and policy stability."

Also laying stress on the tax regime, he said that India offers a transparent and predictable tax regime, and its system "encourages and supports honest taxpayers".

USISPF, a non-profit organization, is organising a weeklong summit on US-India ties and it has witnessed the participation of top political and corporate leaders from the two countries.

(IANS)