New Delhi [India]: In his address to representatives of industry associations, Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal on Monday said that as local goes global, the focus of the government is to enhance the quality, productivity and competitiveness of industry to boost exports. Speaking about Prime Minister’s clarion call on August 6 ‘Local Goes Global: Make in India for the World’, Goyal said, “The image of India in the international market is good and the world is willing to increase trade with us. It is majorly because of the quality of goods of India and the hard work of the Indians that the people of the world wish to buy goods from India.” “Today’s interaction was very consequential. People from all over India engaged in the sector gave their ideas for creating a more robust and vibrant industry ecosystem. The associations put forward their grievances, but mostly looking at their enthusiasm to meet the targets, I am positive that commerce in India will flourish,” he said. He said, “With a collective will, agility and synergies we turned a ‘Crisis into an Opportunity, as the Merchandise exports for first 2 weeks of Aug’21 went up by 45 per cent over 2020-21 and up 32 per cent over 2019-20 and Merchandise exports for 1 Apr – 14 Aug’ 21 up by 71 per cent over 2020-21 and up 23 per cent over 2019-20.” The minister also added that sector-specific efforts are required to help the industry. “We are on a Brand India Mission; Commerce and Industry will engage with each sector to ensure that we arrive at solutions,” he added. Further, Goyal said that the story has just begun, and urged the Industry Associations to suggest more ways to reduce the compliance burden. “I urge all to share their experience on Non-Tariff Barriers in other countries so that India can take appropriate response where ever feasible.” Further, he added, “It is also time to reflect on how to achieve future targets. India’s average applied import tariff dropped to 15 per cent in 2020 from 17.6 per cent in 2019, the sharpest annual fall in about a decade and a half and our applied tariffs are way below the bound rate of 50.8 per cent (permissible limit under the WTO), with positive momentum, India is working in mission mode to achieve a target of 400 billion dollar merchandise exports in 2021-22.” Speaking about the aim of 2 trillion US dollars contribution of exports by 2030 in the economy, Goyal said, “Economy is on a path of revival and India received the highest ever FDI inflow in 2020-21. It surged by 10 per cent to 81.72 billion US dollars from 74.39 billion US dollars (2019-20) and FDI during May’ 21 is USD 12.1 bn i.e. 203 per cent higher than May 2020 and 123 per cent higher than May 2019.” The minister said that from EoDB to Exports and from Startups to Services, India is taking giant leaps in each sector. Further, speaking about employment, Goyal said that more than 54,000 startups were providing employment to 5.5 lakh jobs, and more than 20 lakh jobs will be created by 50,000 new start-ups in the next 5 years. “It is time for our industry to expand our capacity, capability and commitment to develop resilient global supply chains. Our relentless efforts are a testament to the world of our potential and India’s ability to scale and our Industries have truly inculcated spirit of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas, Sabka Prayas’,” he said. Talking about the Incentivising Manufacturing, Goyal said, “Governments focus will be on PLI worth Rs 1.97 lakh crore to 13 sectors in next 5 years, focus on 24 sectors to attract investment, one-stop digital platform to facilitate businesses through Investment Clearance Cell (ICC), One District One Product under which creating a pool of 739 products from 739 districts, India Industrial Land Bank for providing a GIS-enabled database of industrial areas, he said that Centre expects that Indian Industry should suggest areas for intervention through research, handholding of exporters/manufacturers, deeper engagement with States, greater engagement with Missions, etc.” Lastly, the minister said, “The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles. Indian industry through their conviction and commitment have demonstrated to the world that we can rise to any challenge and conquer it.” He further added that Industry Associations will play a key role in developing a SAFE ecosystem i.e. Sustainable, Agile, Futuristic & Efficient to make India a Global Hub of manufacturing and together, we will achieve ‘Sarva Lok Hitam’ i.e. growth of the industry with ‘Quality driven productivity’.
