Speaking at the Dewars Centre in Perth, The Depute Leader of the SNP said:
"Scotland is attracting more foreign investment than any part of the UK outside London, think how much more we could do if we had the power to set our own corporation tax levels.
"Recorded crime is at a 35-year low thanks to the SNP ensuring more police officers are on our streets and in our communities than ever before. This is in stark contrast to policing in England where officer numbers are plummeting.
"Just this week - while there is no room for complacency - we’ve seen a bigger fall in child poverty than south of the border but with damaging welfare reforms and more Westminster cuts ahead, our limited powers will be tested and our progress could be undermined.
"Think how much more we could do with independence."
Ms Sturgeon is also calling on more responsible opposition following Labour’s misjudged and backfiring Modern Apprentices attack this week.
She said:
"It is astonishing that as Labour launches an assault on the Modern Apprenticeship scheme, the SNP Government works hard to bolster life chances for our young people by investing £72million to support more than 26,427 MA starts last year.
"But if Labour had been in power, Scotland would have lost apprentice places as the party’s MSPs voted against this in the budget.
"Labour have also come out really badly on the Leveson inquiry. There was absolutely nothing in the First Minister’s evidence this week to suggest that Labour had been right on any of the allegations they had been making. So they resort to innuendo and smear, and conveniently forget about their own Party’s close involvement with News International.
"With every day that passes, it becomes more obvious that Labour has learned little from it's election defeat last year. While they remain mired in negativity, the SNP will continue delivering on our positive agenda for Scotland."
