Addressing the last State Convention of BJP Yuva Morcha attended by over 3 lakh people here at Thekkinadu Maidan, the Prime Minister said: "Five years ago, the world had given up on India, however, today the world wants to come here and invest."

New Delhi: The world which had given up on India around five years ago is now showing interest to come here and invest, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday at Thrissur, Kerala.

Boasting about the efforts made by the Centre to improve India's economy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted: "The NDA government in the Centre has transformed the culture of governance in India. Today, India is the fastest growing major economy in the world. We have moved up to rank 77 from rank 142 in the ease of doing business rankings."

"India has gone ahead of China in getting FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). Be it manufacturing or start-ups, India is making remarkable progress in every sector," he added.

The Prime Minister further dedicated Kochi Oil refinery and other projects to enhance ease of living in Kerala.

"During my last visit to Kerala, I dedicated the Kollam bypass, which was pending for decades. Four and a half years ago, we launched a major effort to make all kitchens smoke-free. Today over 90 per cent of homes in India have cooking gas connection as compared to only 55 per cent in 2014, " the Prime Minister said.

Stating that India's energy needs are increasing and the Centre is putting immense efforts to deal with it, the Prime Minister stated: "India’s energy needs are growing. That is why we have increased the pace of development of oil and gas infrastructure in the country. We are very close to our goal to provide a cooking gas connection to every home. Nearly, 6 crore poor women have received free cooking gas connections.

"Keeping in mind the import burden of petrol and diesel, the Union government has begun the development of biofuels in a big way. Whether it is aviation fuel or petrol and diesel, we have succeeded in 10 per cent blending of bio-fuel. Our effort is to increase this to 25 per cent, he added.

