Minister of State, External Affairs, General (Dr.) V. K. Singh (Retd.) has said that the world is flat, connected and that nations of the world are dependent on each other, raising the need for ensuring a greater synergy in what each nation does and benefits from. The Minister recalled that India has been tagged as the world’s fastest-growing large economy. He said that the current GDP growth rate of 7% - 7.5% is very good in the current circumstances. Saying that it augurs well, he said that there is a need to ensure that the manufacturing sector of the country takes off with the types of demand raised by the global and domestic economy. General Singh was speaking at the inaugural session of ‘The Gateway of India Geoeconomic Dialogue’ 2018, at Gateway House, Mumbai yesterday. The Dialogue is being held on March 12 – 13, 2018, co-hosted by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations.

Delivering the keynote address, the Minister said that the global community needs to look seriously at the challenge of protectionism which is raising its head. He said that in the interconnected world of today, this challenge has become bigger. He added that we need to ensure that all our policies lead to win-win solutions and protect us from protectionism.

General Singh that on the domestic economic front, the Government has taken a number of steps to maintain a multilateral rule-based world trading order.  He said that the liberalization of FDI regime has resulted in growth in FDI as well as rise in the number of sectors that attract FDI.  He noted that steps taken by the Government to enforce contracts have given confidence to businessmen that their investments would be protected.

The Minister said that the Goods and Services Tax will yield even better results in times to come, through higher revenues, simpler processes for businesses and smoother provision of services. He said that the Government is taking efforts to ensure that the system is continuously improved. The Minister also noted how initiatives such as Sagarmala, UDAAN and the opening of Chabahar port are improving various types of connectivity and reducing transaction costs in India.

Expressing his happiness at attending the inaugural of the third edition of the Gateway of India Geoeconomic Dialogue, General Singh expressed the hope that the Dialogue would enable India to learn from the best practices of various countries, especially in plugging onto the digital economy in multiplying India’s progress.

The opening session featured a special address by Ms. Urve Palo, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, Republic of Estonia who spoke on ‘Designing a Global Digital Economy’, drawing lessons from the digital development journey undertaken by her country. Various distinguished personalities belonging to the business, political and social spheres from both India and abroad were present on the occasion.

 

***

DJM

(Release ID: 1524043) Visitor Counter : 777