Every mission of India across the world has a mandate to focus on trade, tourism, and technologies: Piyush Goyal

A pivotal session entitled 'Strategizing India’s Prosperity: Role and Roadmap for Exports' was a part of the Global Economic Policy Forum 2023 organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance in New Delhi on 8 December. Speaking at this session, the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India, Mr Piyush Goyal delved into the critical role exports play in India's economic growth, with a specific focus on achieving the ambitious goal of USD 2 trillion in goods and services exports by the end of the decade.

He expressed that today, every mission of India across the world has a mandate to focus on trade, tourism, and technologies. It has become a part of their KPIs. The performance is being evaluated to see how much the Missions have impacted India's trade and tourism. I am delighted that the response across the world has been phenomenal. They handhold the Indian businessmen, take the message of India across the world, identify opportunities for Indian business to expand their operations. The Indian businessmen have truly done us proud by their contribution and by going global. Further, we have invested significantly through government and private sector investments to develop a robust infrastructure to take care of the needs of India. Investments in India are at an all-time high, which will hold us in good stead in terms of lower logistics costs and engaging with the world with respect to exports.

According to the Minister, it is possible to aspire for the target of USD 2 trillion in exports. While India's merchandise exports currently surpass services exports, the latter is experiencing rapid growth. Moreover, the emergence of digital and green trade presents new avenues for expansion.

India has moved on from fragile 5 to a top 5 economy. With strong macroeconomic fundamentals and an aspirational society, our foundations are very strong. We are further working towards improving ease of doing business, reducing compliance, a corruption-free system, decriminalisation and learning from business through a partnership approach. India's economic landscape is undergoing significant shifts, and the session provided a comprehensive exploration of the challenges and opportunities in the realm of exports.

8 December 2023

New Delhi