Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday urged Indian industry to step up local procurement wherever possible so that domestic supply chains are strengthened and become more resilient. This will also curb the excessive reliance of local businesses on international supply chains.
In the context of the “Breakfast Trade Discussion 4.0 Session” in Davos, Switzerland, Goyal called on India Inc to look at increasing value-added exports and ensuring that “new jobs come to India instead of raw materials coming out of India”. The government, he said, sought to ensure orderly pricing behavior and ensure that companies add value and jobs.
He also stressed the need to focus more on service sector exports, which could further increase the country’s overall exports. Exports of services reached a record $ 254 billion in FY22.
India, facing rising inflation like many others across the globe, has launched a series of measures to tame price pressures, keep interest rates in check and curb the depreciation of the rupee to ensure that growth and prosperity are not affected, Goyal added.
The government is striving to reduce logistics costs through measures such as GatiShakti, and another initiative, the National Master Plan, will help improve infrastructure planning and ensure the implementation of projects within time and budget allocation.
Although the country faced the direct and indirect impact of various problems, including the Covid attack, chip shortages, rising commodity prices, the Ukraine war, global container shortages and significant shipping and logistics costs, its exports exceeded the ambitious goal of reaching as much as $ 422 billion in FY22.
He stressed that for the past 8 years the government had focused largely on structural reforms which have kept India in good shape in times of crisis.
The minister urged investors to set up shop or expand in India: “Come to India and grow with India because India is the future.”
“We are willing to dedicate senior officials to oversee major projects. In the larger context, we all need to support each other to bring scale to the country,” he added.
