Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the decision to scrap Article 370 has been taken after a great deal of thought and the Centre   moved forward with it for the benefit of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He also asserted that the decision is purely a domestic one. In an exclusive interview to an English daily, Prime Minister talked about New Jammu and Kashmir, saying leading entrepreneurs have already expressed their interest in investing in the state.   Underlining that economic growth cannot happen in a closed environment, the Prime Minister said, open minds and  markets will ensure that the youth of the region will put J&K on the path of greater progress. He said, the investment needs stability, market access, and predictable laws and the abrogating Article 370 has ensured all of these. Mr. Modi said this will help develop an ecosystem which will give better rewards to the skills, hard work and products of the people in the region.

The Prime Minister also said that better avenues of education like IIT, IIM and AIIMS will not only give more educational opportunities to the youth but also give the region a better workforce. He said projects related to roads, new rail lines and  modernisation of the airports are being accelerated.

The Prime Minister asserted that NDA government will leave no stone unturned to make India a better business destination. Mr Modi said, the vision of the NDA government for the next five years is to have investment-led growth and it is targeting 100 lakh crore rupees worth of investment in the coming five years. He said, the government is working on policies to promote inflows from domestic as well as foreign sources to achieve this vision. The Prime Minister said the private sector must continue to believe in the India story assuring that he will do his best to make India a better place to do business. Mr. Modi said, the Centre is working towards long-term growth and not the kind which happened between 2008 and 2014.