New Delhi, Jun 1(PTI): India is becoming a major manufacturing hub of mobile phones with the number of handset factories in the country going up to 120, Union Minister for Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said. “When our government came, there were just two mobile factories in India. Just two. How many factories have come in India? 120 in the last three-and-a-half years. India is becoming a big manufacturing hub of mobile phones,” he said.

The government was pushing medical electronics and other areas in electronics in a big way, he said. Prasad was addressing a meeting on ‘Four years of Modi governance: Key initiatives and development outcomes’, organised by the Telangana unit of the BJP.

The Union minister, who highlighted a number of achievements of the NDA government, said the country’s economy was on “a good wicket” during the last four years. “Four years down the line, India has got the highest foreign investment. Be it IMF, be it World Bank, be it another international think-tank, Moodys, India’s (growth) rate shall be 7.3 percent to 7.5 percent. Inflation is under control,” he said.

Prasad, the Law Minister, said the NDA government’s commitment for a free judiciary is impeccable and complete. Many top leaders now in the government had fought against the Emergency for three freedoms – individual freedom, press freedom and independence of the judiciary, he said.

He said judicial appointments must be fair, reasonable and that marginalised communities should also find a space in judicial appointments. Those who do not have a family pedigree should also get into a judicial appointment. Those things we are insisting. But in a spirit of friendship, in a spirit of reciprocity, the minister said. The constitutional principles, including rule of law, secularism, democratic principles and separation of power, must be adhered to, he said.

“What I mean is, governance must be done by those voted by the people of India to govern and lawmaking must be made by those elected to make laws by people of India and accountable to the people of India. This principle needs to be kept in mind,” he said.

The Union Minister highlighted the powers of the judiciary, including the power to quash any law, and also talked about the need for accountability in the judiciary.