NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the stakeholders in the trade and commerce sector to put all their efforts to take advantage of the new opportunities created by the changes in the global supply chain in the post-Covid global world.
The Prime Minister, who interacted with Heads of Indian Missions abroad and stakeholders of the trade and commerce sector via video conference in first of its kind initiative, said that considering the size of India’s economy and potential, its manufacturing and service industry base, there is tremendous potential for export growth.
The Prime Minister said that along with celebrating the 75th festival of independence, this is an opportunity to build a clear vision and roadmap for future India.
“In this, our export ambitions and all the stakeholders play a major role. The world is shrinking every day due to physical, technological and financial connectivity. In such an environment, new possibilities are being created around the world for the expansion of our exports,” he said.
He added that when the country is moving towards the mission of Atmanirbhar Bharat, one of its goals is to increase India’s share in exports manifold.
“To achieve this, we have to make sure that we get access to the global supply chain, so that our business can scale up and grow,” he said.
He noted that the industry will also have to move towards the best technology, focus on innovation and increase share in research and development.
“While encouraging competition and excellence, we have to prepare global champions in every sector,” he said.
Union Commerce Minister and External Affairs Minister were also present during the interaction.
PM Modi said one of the major reasons, India had the highest share in the global economy in the past was its strong trade and exports.
He stressed the importance of strengthening exports in regaining the country’s old share in the global economy.
He listed the initiatives of the government to boost MSMEs like relaxations given in compliances under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and provision of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme of Rs 3 lakh crore.
PM Modi noted that the Production Linked Incentive Scheme will not only help in increasing the scale of manufacturing but also increase the level of global quality and efficiency.
“This will develop a new ecosystem of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The country will get new global champions in manufacturing and export,” he said.
He elaborated how Production-Linked Incentives helped to strengthen the mobile phone manufacturing sector.
“The mobile phone sector, we are also experiencing its impact. Seven years ago, we used to import mobile phones worth about $ 8 billion. Now, it has come down to $2 billion. Seven years ago, India used to export mobile phones worth only $ 0.3 billion. Now it has increased to more than 3 billion dollars,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the governments, both at the Centre and states are focussing to reduce the time and cost of logistics in the country.
“For this, work is going on at a rapid pace in every level to create a multimodal connectivity.”
The Prime Minister said continuous efforts are being made by the government to minimize the impact of pandemic.
“It is our best effort to keep the virus infection under control. The work of vaccination is going on at a fast pace in the country today. Every possible step has been taken to solve all the problems of the countrymen and the industry,” he said.
He added that industry and business have also innovated during this period by adapting to new challenges.
The industry also helped the country deal with the medical emergency and also played a role in reviving growth. “This is the reason that today along with drugs and pharmaceuticals, our exports have reached a new level in sectors like agriculture. Today we are seeing positive signs not only of recovery in the economy but also about high growth. Therefore, this is a good time to set high targets for exports and achieve them,” he said.
He said the government is taking necessary steps to boost exports.
The Prime Minister said the government has taken a major decision for exporters to get a boost of about Rs 88,000 crore in the form of insurance cover.
“Similarly by rationalizing our export incentives our exports would be WTO compliant and will also get a boost,” he said.
The Prime Minister stressed on the role of states in achieving the export targets and implementing reforms, attracting investment, ease of doing business and creating last-mile infrastructure.
He said the central government is working closely with the states to minimize the regulatory burden so as to increase export and investment.
PM Modi said healthy competition is being promoted between the states to make export hubs in the states. States are being encouraged to focus on one product in each district.