The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has announced that India’s overall exports, including services and merchandise exports, have crossed an all-time high of $ 750 billion. This achievement comes in the 75th year of independence as India celebrates the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The announcement was made by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal, at the ASSOCHAM Annual Session 2023: Strengthening India’s Competitiveness in New Delhi.
Export Growth Amidst Challenging Global Economic Situation
Despite the extremely challenging global economic situation, India’s exports have risen from $ 500 billion in 2020-2021 to $ 750 billion. Shri Goyal highlighted the healthy growth in both merchandise and service sectors. He expressed that given the fact that the whole world is in recession, inflation is at an all-time high for most developed countries, interest rates are shooting up, and there’s a sense of doom and gloom in the rest of the world, India’s performance fills us with pride.
Focus on Sustainable Economic Growth
The focus of the Indian Government over the last nine years has been on building foundation blocks for uninterrupted and sustainable economic growth. The Minister stated that the first decade in the journey of a developing country becoming a developed country focuses on creating strong fundamentals, economic frameworks, and stable regulatory practices to attract domestic and international capital. India is undergoing such a journey and is lucky to bank upon its large domestic market and also access the whole wide world.
Making India Self-Reliant
Shri Goyal stressed that the effort of the Indian Government to make India self-reliant is about not closing doors but further opening them wider with the objective of letting competitive and comparative advantages determine international trade. The policymakers need to look at the entire value chain to find out the industries or sectors in which India is most cost competitive, has an edge over others, has niche and some differentiating factor and push for the growth of such industries or sectors. The Renewable Energy sector is one such area where India can become the global leader by exploiting the huge export potential and also promote the production of goods and services with the least carbon impact.
Five Prans for Developed Bharat @ 100
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day that India should get rid of the colonial mindset and recognize its roots and strengths. He noted that the five Prans articulated by the PM will lead to a developed Bharat@100 in 2047 when India celebrates the centenary of its Independence. The Minister said that we all need to work with a sense of duty in the spirit of these five Prans.
India’s Strong Macroeconomy
India’s strong macroeconomy, robust foreign exchange reserves, relatively low inflation, and entrepreneurial spirit under the leadership of the Prime Minister have brought together the domestic ecosystem to not only replace items from the import basket but also achieve economies of scale and compete in the international market. India’s ability to innovate, conduct research and development, spirit of inquiry, and out of the box thinking is being witnessed by the world today and all this is reflective of the new spirit of Bharat.
Free Trade Agreements
The Free Trade Agreements (FTA) signed by India with Australia and UAE have been welcomed by industry across the three countries, and there has been positive feedback across media platforms. The speed, quality, and extensive stakeholder consultations resulting in finding the right equitable balance have been appreciated by all sections. The Minister stated that a series of FTAs are under different stages of discussion to further expand India’s trade and will further open up game-changing opportunities for the economy.
G20 Presidency: Showcasing India’s Business Across the World
The G20 presidency has given a unique opportunity to position India globally, which must be leveraged by the industry and businesspersons to showcase India’s business across the world. The Minister lauded the vision of the Prime Minister who had said that this is the time, this is the right time. He also noted that India’s strong infrastructure, including the National Infrastructure Pipeline, PM Gati Shakti, and Unified Logistics Interface Platform, built upon technology as the backbone of such initiatives, has been developed to promote inclusive and sustainable global growth.
Conclusion
In conclusion, India’s achievement of crossing an all-time high of $ 750 billion in exports in the 75th year of independence is a proud moment for the country. Despite the challenging global economic situation, India has shown remarkable resilience and growth in both merchandise and service sectors. The government’s focus on building foundation blocks for uninterrupted and sustainable economic growth, making India self-reliant, and promoting inclusive and sustainable global growth through strong infrastructure and Free Trade Agreements is positioning India as a global economic superpower. As India celebrates the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and looks forward to the centenary of its independence, the country is well on its way to achieving the five Prans articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a developed Bharat@100 in 2047.