Union Commerce and Industry, Railways, and Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Minister Shri Piyush Goyal said that Aatmanirbhar Bharat is about opening India’s doors wider so that India engages with the world from a position of strength, on equal, fair & reciprocal terms. Delivering the keynote address at Swarajya Mag’s programme, ‘The Vision & Philosophy of AatmaNirbhar Bharat’, he said that when we talk of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the effort is India should focus its energies to create what we can within the country, learn from experiences across the world, bring best of technologies to India, attract capital, skills & high-quality education & healthcare. Technology will play an important role in achieving Aatmanirbharta, and the government will support start-ups & industry in expanding technology ecosystem, he added
Shri Goyal said that the dream of Aatmanirbhar Bharat can become a reality only if we follow Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s clarion call of Vocal for Local. Stating that AatmanirbharBharat is possible only with jan-bhaagidaari (people’s participation), he said that AatmaNirbhar Bharat will be a reality but needs the active participation of each citizen. Inviting all to be a part of this journey of a self-reliant India, an economic powerhouse, the Minister said “If we move with determination, enthusiasm & speed, I have no doubt we will be certainly successful in our goal of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. When you talk of dharma, any of our old legacies & cultural heritage, it always reflects a little bit of focus on: – Aatmanirbhar Individual – Aatmanirbhar Society – Aatmanirbhar Nation. The onus of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is on all of us collectively.”
Shri Goyal said that we must look to leverage Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries with whom we have a transparent trading mechanism, working with transparent business systems, whom you can engage with from a position of strength for certain products. He said that India should focus its energy on doing FTAs with developed countries who are looking for market access in the large Indian markets, but who can also provide us with high technology products while opening the doors in their countries for products where India has strength. The Minister said that one of the primary reasons we could not join RCEP was that some of the countries in RCEP were not democratic, transparent trading systems. “One does have to be cautious when dealing with a partner who does not give a level playing field or reciprocal access”, he said.
Shri Goyal said that Prime Minister intends to prepare India to become a global player in resilient supply chains. He said that India should emerge as a trusted partner, when like-minded countries are looking to expand trade or looking for alternate sources for the manufacture of their goods & provision of services.
Shri Goyal said that in manufacturing & production, we are looking at high quality & high productivity levels. Stating that Quality & Productivity will be hallmarks of India’s future manufacturing industry, he said that next month each sector will dedicate a day to focus on them, and promote them. He called upon preparing India, inculcating in every Indian the nationalist spirit of supporting India & Indian production, as well as making India a well-respected manufacturer of goods & provider of services. He said that Production linked incentive programme, which has been expanded to 10 more sectors, will help over 3 crore people in getting well-paying jobs, both formal & informal. It will help entrepreneurs get incentives in the support ecosystem, he added. “We are identifying more & more sectors which may need de-regulation, hand-holding & some other form of support & incentive. We are working in close partnership with Industry to define & determine areas where India has competitive advantage & has the capability to make for the world. We are working to make India a proud & self-reliant nation serving people of India & the world. We have received strong directions from PM to work on making it easier to do business in India. Preparing a framework for the enforcement of contracts is a very critical aspect of our work. We are focused on efforts to make it easier to do business. We are working on Genuine Single Window System.”, the Minister said.
Talking about the farmers, he said that we are now preparing the country & our farmers to become stronger & get the ability to market their product anywhere in the country. “Our farmers have made us self-sufficient in food grains. We are now looking at strengthening the hands of farmers”, he added.
About Indian Railways, Shri Goyal said that it is now looking at the next level of development. “We are looking for more & more Indian suppliers for everything that Railway needs. Today, Railway only procures under 2% of the current procurement from outside the country & we plan to replace that 2% also with Indian products. We will be completely electrified by December 2023. We plan to invest in 20 GW of renewable energy to become net-zero carbon emitter by 2030.”