Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, on Tuesday, 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, the minister 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.
Claiming that the ‘India story’ had been receiving a lot of enthusiasm across the world, he 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 India, amid all these problems, is an oasis that 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.
Stressing 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 focused extensively on structural reforms, he said 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 programmes, 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 to boost 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.