Goyal says IPO market gaining a lot of traction
India is negotiating Free Trade Agreements with six to seven countries and seeking accommodative trade deals, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal told industries leaders, calling on them to set ambitious targets as the Indian economy is poised for a sustained spell of rapid growth.
“Right now we are engaged in FTA negotiations with six to seven countries,” he told the 5th Meeting of the CII National Council in New Delhi on 4 Dec 2021
Citing India’s foreign trade as “very, very comfortable” and seeking accommodation in trade deals, Goyal said, “On our part, I believe, that it’s time that we engage more with the world, we look at deeper engagement, both imports and exports.
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.
Stating that all economic indices hinted at a fast growth trajectory, Goyal highlighted India’s cost advantage as well as trust advantage.
This year the growth would be even much more, the capital markets are buzzing which means flow of foreign investments and the IPO market gaining a lot of traction, he said.
“We have fast bounced back since Covid, the way Industry geared itself up, Services sector, for example, reoriented their processes, the Government supported industry to adopt Work from Home, we met all our international commitments throughout the Covid period including the lockdown.
“Not for a second did any international supply chain, dependent on India, had to suffer, particularly the Services sector and for that matter even in the Goods sector,” he pointed out.
Stressing that India is going through a sharp and strong revival, the Minister said that rising economic indicators point towards “India is shaping up for a growth decade”.
“Apna time aa gya (Our time has come)! This is the time to be in India and invest in India,” said Goyal, adding, “If we fail our Young Generation, it will be truly a sad day for India. We are at the cusp (of history). It’s our time to grab now, we’ll probably regret if we miss this opportunity.”
Goyal said that the Government is doing its part by undertaking transformational reforms such as PLI, PM Gati Shakti, ODOP, Single Window, Retrospective tax amendment, National Asset Monetisation Pipeline, etc and opening up sectors like Defence, Space & Atomic Energy, Mining & Minerals, etc.
The Minister urged the top 100 CII members, that could comprise 1,000 companies, to onboard the National Single Window System and make full use of India Industrial Land Bank System. Resolving to use Indian materials to make a truly Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-sufficient), he said this will transform the future of India by making it self-reliant, resilient and competitive as well as create jobs.
The Government has initiated several schemes for the benefit of the Industry and the public in general, including Power sector, One Nation, One Ration Card, world’s largest health insurance programme, Ayushman Bharat, UPI payments transfer and Jan Dhan banking for each and every home. “(The) Government has focused on saturating schemes,” he said.
Expressing confidence on the continuous Public-Private Partnership, Goyal said the Government is always thinking of how to empower the Industry and urged the entrepreneurs to come up with new ideas in nation-building.
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.
There is big scope in the expansion of labour intensive Plastics, Footwear and Textiles industries. India cannot be truly Aatmanirbhar, without empowering its poor to be Aatmanirbhar, he added. fiinews.com
