Dahod, May 26 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the nation has emerged from an era of despair and darkness into a new age of confidence and optimism and emphasised the importance of manufacturing essential goods within India.

"Over the years, India has taken decisions which were unprecedented and unimaginable, breaking free from decades-old constraints and advancing across every sector," Modi said at Dahod in Gujarat, an official statement said.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone, inaugurating and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs 24,000 here.

"140 crore Indians are united in building a Viksit Bharat", exclaimed Modi, emphasising the importance of manufacturing essential...