New Delhi:Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal today called upon the captains of Indian Industry to set ambitious targets as our economy is poised for a sustained spell of rapid growth. Addressing the 5th Meeting of the CII National Council in New Delhi, he said the Industry has a huge role to play in the uplift of the poor and underprivileged.
Goyal encouraged the industry to have a greater appetite for taking risks, to invest in industries that may be less profitable at the start, but are labour-oriented and create lakhs of jobs. He also urged the industry to promote tribal handicraft products as part of their CSR activities.
Union Minister said there is big scope in the expansion of labour intensive plastics, footwear and textiles industry. India cannot be truly Aatmanirbhar, without empowering its poor to be Aatmanirbhar, he added.
He conveyed his appreciation for the industry’s positive approach in FTA consultations. “Right now we are engaged in FTA negotiations with 6 to7 countries,” he said. Citing India’s foreign trade as “very, very comfortable”,
Seeking accommodation in trade deals, Goyal said, “On our part, I believe, that it’s time that we engaged more with the world, we look at deeper engagement, - both imports and exports. If we (don’t) open our autos or spirits sectors, for example, it will open greater opportunities for India than the other way round,” he said.
Observing that 2020 has been a year of resilience for the Indian economy, Goyal said that in these unprecedented times, India has emerged as the ‘World’s Trusted Partner’ and is poised to contribute significantly to global growth. Policies of the government in the last more than seven years, under the able leadership of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have laid a solid foundation for growth of the Indian economy, he said.
Stating that all economic indices hinted at a fast growth trajectory, Goyal said India has cost advantage as well as trust advantage. “Services is growing at a fantastic pace, exports also are, of course on merchandise,… Similarly remittances continue to be strong, FDI is at never before levels for the 7th time in a row, but this year the growth would be even much more, the capital markets are buzzing which means FII investments and the IPO market is also gaining a lot of traction,” he said.