The 21st century will be dominated by space exploration and ocean transport and the country needs to leverage its strengths in these areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday.

He was addressing a rally after inaugurating the two metro rail corridors for Mumbai city.

The two elevated metro corridors will connect the suburban areas of Dahisar East with Andheri East (16.50 km) and Dahisar East with DN Nagar (18.60 km).

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the ₹7,900-crore fourth container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), the largest container port in India.

Modi said that in any advanced economies, the port sector is very vibrant and the same is required for India. The new terminal at JNPT will further strengthen the country’s position in global maritime market. But merely setting up a port will not lead to development, it also needs multi-modal transport and infrastructure facilities such roads, rail and cold storage facilities, he said.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of a grand memorial for Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mills Compound near Chaitya Bhoomi, Shivaji Park.

The memorial would be developed at a cost of over ₹400 crore and is planned to be completed during the tenure of the present government.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Santosh Gangwar, Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar and RPI leader Ramdas Athavale were present on the occasion. The Shiv Sena boycotted the function as its chief Uddhav Thackeray was not invited.

Modi said the Government would develop and modernise 400 railway stations across the country. He congratulated Maharashta Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for pushing the Metro project in a span of four months.

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