Global competition will help India innovate and grow fast and achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar bharat: Shri Piyush Goyal
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal has said that India will have to face global competition effectively to achieve the goal of becoming a prosperous and developed nation. He was speaking at the CII Global Economic Policy Summit in New Delhi today.
Speaking on the way forward for the Indian economy and the steps being taken to realize the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to make India a developed nation in Amrit Kaal, Shri Goyal remarked that the pandemic alerted us about our dependence on supply chains, particularly from geographies that are not friendly or transparent. It opened our eyes on a number of risk factors in our trading system, our manufacturing and technology gaps that existed in India, he said. This insight has helped us to move forward on the path to Atmanirbhar bharat, he said, adding that India will have to engage much more with the global economy if we want to develop fast. To achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat, we have to engage much more, not less, with the world, he said. We are not looking for closing our doors – but we are looking to opening our doors wider to global competition and it is the only way that the country will innovate and grow, he said. He gave the example of automobile sector that saw stagnation due to a long period of protectionism to domestic industry.
When we are planning for our journey for the next 25 years, we are looking at inclusive growth, democratized growth, so that no man or no family is left behind, Shri Goyal said. For us Sustainable Development Goals are not a target to be achieved by 2030, we wish to provide those goals much faster, he added.
Shri Goyal said that Prime Minister Modi recognizes that it is important focus on bringing prosperity to the people, to provide good governance, to ensure sustainable and modern infrastructure and use the talent of the youth that is unlocked through National Education Policy. Our work in the last 8 years has been to help build domestic strength, he said, adding that we cannot open our economy without first ensuring that it has the ability to face global competition.
Speaking on Production Linked Incentive scheme, Shri Goyal said that it is designed to support the industry where it is needed in initial years. Government plays a role of handholding support system through this scheme, he pointed out. PLI gives the kickstart, but then the industry has to move on its own strength, he said. The Minister informed that all the decisions linked to this scheme are taken by a committee that comprises all stakeholders from the industry itself. They are working on more ideas for PLI schemes, some of which are on the way, he said. This is one scheme that has found traction and acceptance across the country and good investments coming in, Shri Goyal said.
Shri Goyal said that the government is trying to rejuvenate the textile and cotton sector and is working actively to revitalize this industry, from farmers to exports – as PM articulated – from farms to fiber to fabrics to fashion to foreign. Similarly, National Technical Textile Mission is working to promote innovation and production, he said. We have over 200 projects where academia, industry and government is working in tandem, he informed the gathering. “I invite you to come up with more ideas in this area and we are happy to support all research in this area,” Shri Goyal said.
Assuring the industry of all support, Shri Goyal said that in the FTA negotiations the amount of stakeholder consultations this government has done has helped it take correct decisions. “It helped us to decide to walk out of RCEP,” Shri Goyal said, adding that walking out of that negotiation was in national interest. He pointed out that on 29th December, India-Australia comes into effect. There is not even a single negative comment on India-UAE and Australia FTA because of the extensive consultations with stakeholders, he said.
Explaining the priorities of the government, Shri Goyal said that we have taken proactive measures to control inflation and have calibrated our export duties and import policies accordingly. He said that the government has stopped exports of items which were needed to ensure domestic supply. You can see the result in latest inflation numbers and I am confident that we will soon fall into the comfortable band, he concluded.
******
AD/MS