Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants every Indian mindset to be that of a developed nation’s mind. He also recalled the time when India was considered a fragile economy, and pointed out that the country is now the fifth largest economy in the world.

During an interaction with members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) UK Chapter, in London on Wednesday (local time), Piyush Goyal said Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is important and India is committed to it. He stated that people are now looking at investments coming from India. Responding to a question, Piyush Goyal said, “We are now the fifth largest (economy). Imagine 2013-14 some of you may remember.. we were considered a fragile economy. 10 years back, we were among the weakest five economies. And today we are the world’s fifth largest economy and with strong fundamentals, high foreign exchange reserves, low inflation, relatively our currency has been stable, the highest fastest-growing large economy in the world. We’ve got all the right acronyms and you’re right people are now looking at investments coming from India, talent coming from India, technology coming from India into the developed world also. TCS is sponsoring the marathon in New York. So, you can imagine this is the new India that we can all be proud of.”

“ESG is undoubtedly important and we are very committed to it as a nation. So you can be very rest assured, you can be proud of the fact that India today is not the defensive India of the past. Get out of the history or the historical perspective where we were always fighting with the world and opposing everything that the Western world or the developed world was doing. Prime Minister wants every Indian mindset to be that of a developed nation’s mind,” he said.

“Till we make our mind accept that we are going to be a developed nation, we will never become a developed nation. And wealth sustainability is a harsh reality we all have to accept. Gender equality is something we all have to accept,” he added.
Piyush Goyal said that India according to a recent ranking by one of the European think tanks ranks fourth in the world in meeting Paris commitments. He spoke about how women are working in India and contributing to the nation’s economy. Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami was present at the interaction with the members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) UK Chapter.

“We are proud of the wonderful work our women are doing in India. Often unrecognized, often unsung heroes of the good work that they’re doing. And for that matter, it is the west which is on the back foot. They make very good dialogues and statements and they draft very good matter,” Piyush Goyal said.

“But, in terms of action, for all your kind consideration, India, in a recent ranking by one of the European think tanks, ranks fourth in the world in meeting our Paris commitments, the COP21 commitments on sustainability. And we are the only G20 country in the top ten. So we can be proud of the work that we are doing on this core,” he said.
He recalled the time when women did not get equal opportunities. He spoke about the efforts Modi-government has made to encourage girls in India. He spoke about the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign in which girls get free education. He noted that more and more women are coming into the formal work force.

“There was a time when our women did not get equal opportunity. If you look at the nine years, past nine years, the amount of work that has been done to encourage our girls, our girl child practices, Prime Minister in 2014 launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign today every girl child gets free education, of course, up to high school. And then thereafter she takes interest. We are very much focusing on trying to get them to pursue their dreams, not necessarily just a BCom or a B.Ed,” Piyush Goyal said.

“They can make whatever vocation they are best at, their vocation of choice. And more and more women are coming into the formal workforce. In fact, that is what is driving demand for several products. Today, with nuclear families and women working, dishwashers are selling in a big way. Washing machines are selling in a big way…It was an informal economic activity done by our mothers and sisters and family members, which is now moving that they are adding to the economy through jobs or enterprise or business or MSMEs,” he added.

He called India a proud proponent of ESG. He said that the work done by women which were traditionally “unsung, uncalculated, never reflected in the economy” is now coming into the economic numbers and the work done by them is adding to India’s economy.
Taking to his Twitter handle, Piyush Goyal stated, “Had a wonderful interaction with Chartered Accountants from the UK Chapter of ICAI. With their outstanding skillset & knowledge, urged them to contribute towards further strengthening the India-UK trade & economic partnership.”

Piyush Goyal is on a visit to UK to hold meetings with ministers from the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member countries to discuss the progress of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).