NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said certain sectors have been identified where there is a huge potential for India to cut its import dependence, boost exports and promote domestic manufacturing.
He said that on 12 sectors — food processing; organic farming; iron; aluminium and copper; agrochemicals; electronics; industrial machinery; furniture; leather and shoes; auto parts; textiles; and coveralls, masks, sanitisers and ventilators — work have been moving at a faster pace.
The minister added that Covid-19 pandemic has taught a big lesson that over-dependence on certain geographies can cause a lot of difficulties in the time of stress.
“In our own ways, we have identified sectors where import substitution or export potential is there in a big way and I am sure that we can all work together to make this happen…We are looking at more sectors and I would urge all of you to look at new sectors where we can really promote Indian manufacturing,” Goyal said while addressing the annual general meeting of Bombay Chamber of Commerce.
He also said certain statistics and indicators are reflecting that India’s economy is reviving.
Citing some examples, he said freight movement in railways, power consumption, operations in the cement industry, and export numbers are “clearly demonstrating that we are moving very rapidly towards a reasonable level of operation”.
However, he added that certain sectors like tourism, hospitality, aviation, and public transport will remain a challenge for some more time.
“I am very much seized of the fact that we will have to look at the plug and play infrastructure, we will have to look at genuine single-window clearance, we will have to make it affordable finance available to businesses, we will have to look at long term finance being available to businesses for infrastructure and manufacturing,” he said. (AGENCIES)
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