Bhavnagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India advances with the spirit of 'Vishwabandhu'; however, the dependency on foreign nations poses a significant challenge to the country.

He highlighted that 'Made in India' products are crucial for achieving 'Atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) status. He reiterated that whether it concerns chips or ships, they must be manufactured in India.

The PM said this during the 'Samudra se Samriddhi' programme on Saturday in Gujarat's Bhavnagar, where he inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several development projects across multiple sectors worth more than Rs 34,200 crore.

Addressing the large gathering at Jawahar Maidan in Bhavnagar, "India is moving forward with the spirit of 'Vishwabandhu' (global brotherhood) and India has no major enemy in the world today, but in true terms, our biggest adversary is dependence on other nations. This dependency must be collectively defeated." "Greater foreign dependence leads to greater national failure. For global peace, stability, and prosperity, the world's most populous country must become Atmanirbhar. Reliance on others compromises national self-respect. We cannot leave the future of 140 crore citizens to others. We cannot base the country's development on dependence on others. We cannot put the future of the coming generations at stake... The remedy for all difficulties is an Aatmanirbhar Bharat," he added. He also mentioned that to achieve this, India will have to "confront challenges, reduce external dependence, and demonstrate true 'Atmanirbharta'." Underscoring that India has never lacked capability, PM Modi launched a scathing attack on the then Congress-led UPA government and said that after Independence, the then ruling party "consistently ignored the country's inherent strengths."