E-Paper
Price and quality competitiveness are keys to increase exports: Piyush Goyal
Piyush Goyal said the Indian industry has done remarkably well despite the Covid-19 crisis as merchandise exports for first two weeks of August this year is 45% up as compared to the same period last year.
NEW DELHI: Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday told industry associations that price and quality competitiveness are keys to increase exports that require sector-specific efforts and the government will engage with each sector to ensure to create a robust and vibrant business environment in India.
He asked exports units to report non-tariff barriers they face in other countries so that India could take appropriate response. “The story has just begun,” the minister said urging industry associations to suggest more ways to reduce compliance burden, an official statement said.
While addressing industry leaders, he said the Indian industry has done remarkably well even during the Covid-19 crisis as merchandise exports for first two weeks of August this year is 45% up as compared to the same period in the last financial year. Even compared to non-Covid period of 2019-20, it is 32% up. Merchandise exports for April 1 to August 14, 2021 has jumped 71% over 2020-21 and 23% over 2019-20.
Goyal said it is also time to reflect on how to achieve future targets. He said India’s average applied import tariff dropped to 15% in 2020 from 17.6% in 2019, the sharpest annual fall in about a-decade-and-a-half and our applied tariffs are way below the bound rate of 50.8% (permissible limit under the WTO). With a positive momentum, India is working in mission mode to achieve target of $400 billion merchandise exports in 2021-22.
Speaking about the target of $2 trillion contribution of exports by 2030, Goyal said economy is on a path of revival and India received the highest ever FDI inflow in 2020-21. It surged by 10% to $81.72 billion from $74.39 billion (2019-20) and FDI during May 2021 is $12.1 billion, which is 203% higher than May 2020 and 123% higher than May 2019, the statement quoting him said.
On employment, the minister said more than 54,000 start-ups were providing over 5.5 lakh jobs, and more than 20 lakh jobs will be created by 50,000 new start-ups in the next five years.
He said it is time for our Industry to expand our capacity, capability and commitment to develop resilient global supply chains. Indian industry’s relentless efforts are a testament to the world of its potential and India’s ability to scale and its industries have truly inculcated spirit of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Viswas, Sabka Prayas,” he said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call on August 6, “Local goes Global: Make in India for the World”, the minister said, quality, productivity, and efficiency, will make India’s export basket bigger, better and broader.
Goyal said the government is also incentivising manufacturing and the government’s focus will be on production-linked incentive (PLI) worth ₹1.97 lakh crore to 13 sectors in next five years, he said.
“The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles,” he said. Goyal added Indian industry through their conviction and commitments have demonstrated to the world that it can rise to any challenge and conquer it.
