India, US aim to elevate trade through multilateral, bilateral agreements: Hardeep Singh Puri

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that though the pace at which India is growing is slow, but India and US are working together to uplift trade by means of multilateral and bilateral agreements. He also launched 'India at $5 Trillion - Strengthening Opportunities, Removing Hurdles.' He further said that economic slump is due to global economic challenges but the environment in our country for doing business is very optimistic.

New Delhi: India is growing slowly yet steadily, and India and the US are aiming to elevate trade through multilateral and bilateral agreements, said Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri here on Thursday.

"India is growing slowly yet steadily. India and the US are aiming to elevate trade through multilateral and bilateral agreements. And if the progress continues, then the Indo-US relations will witness a more ambitious partnership," said Puri. He also launched 'India at $5 Trillion - Strengthening Opportunities, Removing Hurdles.' He also participated in a discussion on the ORF-AMCHAM report with Ranjana Khanna, DG-CEO, Amcham India and Gautam Chikermane, vice president of orfonline.

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"Any report, which includes feedback from CEOs, puts pragmatic recommendations that can be inculcated in the government policies. This is exactly what this report does," he added. He said that this report is a testimony that the business environment in India is very positive and the World Bank's ease of doing business is evidential to that fact. He said that this report acknowledges that while bureaucracy doesn't pose hindrance at senior levels, it causes many delays at the grassroots with lower-level officers. "The solution lies in anchoring a behavioural change at the grassroots," he said.

"The report suggests a need to counter corruption. The digitisation process undertaken is fundamental to improve the problem at hand. We are trying to use technology and transparency to make a better change," said Puri.

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Praising the economic growth, he said: "No country has witnessed unconstrained growth for 11 years in a row. This slowdown is a result of a combination of global economic conditions and domestic cyclical and structural changes."

"In 2018, when one of our largest carriers stopped operation, it was assumed to be a doomsday scenario. However, India was able to overcome these hiccups. Today it is the world's third-largest domestic civil aviation market," he added.