Enroute to Self Reliance

Indian exports continue to show signs of recovery after the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is now looking to strengthen domestic industries and help them move up the global value chain. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said businesses should focus on high quality along with good service and pricing to achieve this goal.

Additionally, the government is also mulling a US $23 billion production-linked incentive to boost manufacturing in sectors such as automobiles, solar panels, consumer appliances, textile, food processing, etc. This program will be a step toward’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat' vision and boost Indian exports. A similar program, launched earlier this year, helped the government get investments worth US $1.5 billion from mobile-phone manufacturing companies like Samsung, Foxconn and Wistron. According to reports, this initiative can help the country export mobile phones worth US $100 billion in the next five years.

PM says Rs 20,050 crore-PMMSY to help double fisheries exports, increase farmers'' income

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the Rs 20,050 crore-Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) in 21 states, including Bihar, that will help double fisheries exports, create more employment opportunities and boost income of farmers. Through a video conference, the Prime Minister also launched the mobile app e-Gopala as well as several initiatives linked to studies and research in fisheries production, dairy, animal husbandry and agriculture in Bihar. The state is heading for the assembly polls in October-November. "The motive behind all these schemes launched today is to empower our villages and make India self-reliant (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) in the 21st century," Modi said.

The free trade myth, explains IIFT’s Rakesh Mohan Joshi

Most erudite economists and trade theorists would love to hate my concept even if I am spared, as they have spent their life researching free trade doctrines; making use of complex mathematical modelling and econometric tools to prove that free trade is beneficial for the ‘welfare’ of the economies, the ‘world’ or the ‘nation’. Ever since British economist David Ricardo spelt out the theory of comparative advantage in the early 1800s, most economists believed that countries gain more than they lose when they trade with each other and specialise in which they are most efficient or comparatively more efficient. Therefore, all countries must promote free trade and barriers of all sorts must be eliminated at all costs.

Exports Show Upward Trajectory; Quality & Competitiveness Is India's Selling Point: Piyush Goyal

The Government is working with states & local bodies to deregulate and make it easier to start a business. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that India's own ease of doing business ranking has improved significantly in the five years. Talking about India's mammoth potential, Goyal said that the real unique selling point of India should be around High Quality, Good Service and Good Pricing. India should get recognised the world over for its quality & competitiveness. Quality will have to be integral for the planning of our future. We believe in Transparent pricing, Transparent trade, Free Market, No price controls, and No hidden subsidies, he said.

$23 billion incentive programme in the works to boost manufacturing in India

The government is planning incentives worth $23 billion to attract companies to set up manufacturing plants in the country. The production-linked incentives would be offered to automobile manufacturers, solar panel makers, consumer appliance companies, while textile units, food processing plants, specialised pharmaceutical product makers are also being considered. The incentive programme is modelled on the template of the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme that the government implemented earlier this year. In response to the scheme, companies such as Samsung, Foxconn and Wistron pledged $1.5 billion of investments to set up mobile-phone factories in the country.

India-US trade deal: Have given very good and balanced offer to America, says Piyush Goyal

Indicating that the India-US limited trade deal is likely to be signed after elections there, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said New Delhi has given America “a very good, very balanced offer” for the agreement. The minister said India is ready to sign the deal “tomorrow”, but he has left it to the US to decide on the timing. “We have almost finalised everything but because of coronavirus everything moved from work-from-home in the US. While India did everything as usual in terms of government functioning, I think the US was not really as much focused as on government functioning and on settling all the balance issues of the trade deal.