Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said India is set to achieve an all-time high export figure of nearly USD 863 billion this year, while referring to the country’s export performance.
Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Summit in New Delhi, Goyal said India remains the fastest-growing large economy and highlighted that the country has nearly 11 months of import cover in foreign exchange reserves.
He highlighted that India’s trade deficit in goods and services together is much lower than the country’s annual remittances, reflecting strong economic performance.
Goyal highlighted several initiatives aimed at improving efficiency and reducing wastage, including the LED lighting programme launched in 2015. He said energy efficiency measures have helped save nearly USD 10 billion annually in energy costs while also contributing to sustainability and environmental protection.
On India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Goyal said the nine FTAs signed in the last three-and-a-half years with 38 countries are all with developed economies and will help India attract investments and expand exports.
He said these countries complement rather than compete with India and provide access to large global markets with significant import demand.
The Minister said the FTAs are intended to strengthen India’s export capabilities, increase investments and create new opportunities for Indian businesses in global markets. He urged industry to leverage these agreements to expand their international presence and accelerate export growth.
Referring to the changing nature of global trade, Goyal also said that modern trade agreements increasingly include strong mobility partnership components, reflecting the growing importance of movement of skilled professionals and services in global commerce.
He highlighted that more than 10 million Indians are currently working in Gulf countries, while the number of Indians working in the UAE alone has increased from around 1.8 million to 4.5 million over the last 12-13 years, underlining India’s growing contribution to the global services economy.
Calling upon industry to work towards achieving the target of USD 2 trillion exports over the next five to six years, Goyal said the target was achievable with annual export growth of around 15 per cent.
