By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 11, 2024: UNION Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, during his address at the FICCI's National Executive Committee Meeting in New Delhi today praised Prime Minister, Narendra Modi's achievement on being conferred the 'Order of St Andrew the Apostle', the highest civilian award in Russia. Goyal said that this clearly demonstrates how India has been able to navigate international relations with dexterity. The Minister asked the industry to work with the government to take India-Russia bilateral trade to USD100 bn by 2030.

Goyal said that he will be visiting Switzerland to work towards USD100 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) goal under the recently signed India-EFTA Trade & Economic Partnership Agreement. Goyal stressed that this commitment is a purely FDI commitment and does not cover foreign portfolio investment. He expressed his hope to see that the EFTA agreement on the FDI commitment can be exceeded with a collective effort from the Indian industry in building partnerships.

Piyush Goyal said that alongside rapid growth of the industry the Government is deeply committed to a USD2 trillion export target by 2030. "It's doable, it's achievable. We have the right building blocks in place, we have the strong macroeconomics to support us. The country's currency is stable and outperformed most other emerging markets", said Goyal. He said that with a stable government, stable markets, a stable economy and a resurgence in the collective energy, the country is being valued as a bright spot in the global economy at most global fora.

The Minister stated that more than 1 lakh patents have been registered in the last one year, exhibiting a significant growth in patents registration since 2014. He also pointed out that the Government is committed to invest in innovation and R&D in its third term. He further said that linked with Indian competitive standards are quality standards and quality control orders that will enable India to be cost competitive and help the Government stop inferior products from entering the Indian market. 

The Minister said that the government under Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in its third term is committed to bring three times more speed, three times more work and thrice the more results to make India the third largest economy in the world. Goyal asserted that the government is deeply committed to persevere on the task of calibrated reforms that will help grow the Indian economy alongside increasing the income levels of the citizens. The Minister further elaborated that a massive infrastructure push is on the anvil to provide citizens with basic amenities such as improved road and railway connectivity, electricity, piped gas connection, water connectivity for each home through Jal Jeevan Mission for the next five years.

Goyal emphasised that faster rollout of infrastructure deeply resonates with the needs of the industry as it has a multiplier impact on employment, economy and the consumption of various goods and services. Elaborating further, he said that the infrastructure push has a long-term impact on the India economy in terms of nimbleness in manufacturing and logistics but moreover it will help the Government bring a delicate balance in the society by enhancing the quality of life to the lesser-privileged sections, a vision PM Modi has been working for the last ten years.

The Minister said that expansion of healthcare of senior citizens above 70 years, success of Jal Jeevan Mission, three crore free homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana coupled with the efforts of in-situ rehabilitation of slums in the urban areas are a part of the Government's agenda during this term. Goyal asserted that these basic amenities coupled with job opportunities or entrepreneurship coming out of the rapidly growing Startup India Initiative and investments in manufacturing will make India the third largest economy of the world soon.

He stated that the government is trying to make the Indian investment journey easier through reduction of compliance burden, decriminalisation of laws through Jan Vishwas Act and other such measures to enhance ease of doing business. Goyal urged the industry to be more proactive and engage with the government to bring the hurdles being faced by the stakeholders to the forefront and combat corruption. 

Citing PM Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign, Goyal said that the Government is committed to promote sustainability and urged attendees to plant trees. The Minister further spoke on how bamboo has a tremendous impact on sustainability as it can produce oxygen and is also a carbon sink. He encouraged the participants to look into practical initiatives that will help reduce plastic usage and urged the industry to partner in the effort to take this movement to the last man in the country.