Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal today asserted that the government has taken a series of strict measures to tame inflation, keep interest rates in check and rein in rupee depreciation so that growth and prosperity are not affected.

Addressing the “Breakfast session Discussion on Trade 4.0” in Davos, Switzerland, he asked the Indian industry to procure locally wherever there is an opportunity so that domestic supply chains are fortified and become more resilient and the tendency to place excessive dependence on international supply chains is curbed.

Observing that the ‘India story’ had been receiving a lot of enthusiasm across the world, the minister said that in spite of constraints like Covid 19, chip shortages, conflict, rising commodity prices, container shortages and significant shipping and logistics issues it has been facing in the last two years, which caused massive supply chain disruptions that threw the global economy off-balance, Indian businesses had displayed great resilience, overshooting export targets and achieving $421.8 billion worth of exports.

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Goyal said that India amongst all these problems is an oasis which reflects transparency, offers trust and timeliness and added that the nation had responded to every crisis in a timely manner.

This responsiveness, he said, is a manifestation of the resilience that Indian businesses have to offer and the resilience and confidence of political leadership.

Speaking of the need for working together towards a shared vision, he expressed confidence that India could achieve a target of $1 trillion worth of merchandise and services exported each by 2030 if everyone worked as a team.

Noting that in the last eight years the government had focussed extensively on structural reforms, he said that each one of those movements has been holding India in good stead during times of crisis.

The minister said that Digital India had helped India work during pandemic-induced lockdowns. He added that Missions such as Swacch Bharat, Jan Dhan-Adhaar-Mobile trinity, financial inclusion, Ayushman Bharat, vaccination programs etc. had helped prepare India for the next level of growth and engagement with the world. He underscored that the world could look at India as a reliable alternative to the status quo and invited manufacturing, investment and technology to come to India

He urged the Indian industry to look at boosting value-added exports and ensure that new jobs came into India instead of raw materials going out of India.

Highlighting the serious efforts being made in that direction, the Minister said that the government was striving to ensure orderly behaviour of prices and ensure that businesses add value and jobs.

Expressing concern over the excessive dependence on international supply chains, Goyal urged businesses to procure locally wherever there is an opportunity. He asked businesses to support each other and help fortify domestic supply chains.