The focus over the last 9 years has been on building foundation blocks for uninterrupted and sustainable economic growth
We have a whole new aspirational India. The people desire to see India as an economic superpower. The world also sees India as a leader on multiple fronts. The domestic as well as the export market has been growing steadily. Over the last 9 years the focus has been on building the foundation blocks which are necessary for an economy to have uninterrupted and sustainable growth for time to come. The first decade in the journey of a developing country becoming a developed country, focussed on creation of strong fundamentals, economic framework and stable regulatory practices to attract domestic and international capital.
Recently India’s overall exports have crossed US$ 750 Billion in extremely challenging times. Given the fact that the whole world is in recession, inflation is at an all-time high, interest rates are shooting up and there’s a sense of pessimism in the rest of the world, India’s performance is being appreciated.
India is undergoing such a journey and is lucky to bank upon its large domestic market and also access to the whole world. The effort of the 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.
Our policymakers have rightly observed the entire value chain to find out the industrial sectors in which India is most cost competitive, has an edge over others, has a niche and pushes for the growth of such industries.
Initiatives have been undertaken by the Government of India for the development of infrastructure like National Infrastructure Pipeline, PM Gati Shakti, Unified Logistics Interface Platform, etc. to build upon technology as the backbone of such initiatives. UPI has democratized the financial payment infrastructure for Digital Commerce. India’s strong macroeconomy, robust foreign exchange reserves, relatively low inflation and entrepreneurial spirit have brought together the domestic ecosystem to not only replace items from the import basket but achieve economies of scale and compete in the international market.
Free Trade Agreements signed by India with Australia and UAE have been a welcome step. A series of FTAs are under different stages of discussion to further expand the trade of India. The G20 presidency has given a unique opportunity to position India globally and this must be leveraged by the industry to showcase India’s business across the world.
The New Foreign Trade Policy incorporates measures for ease of doing business like e-certificate of origin, online approvals without a physical interface, paperless filing, overall reduction in transaction costs, boost manufacturing and facilitate exports through ecommerce will further invigorate the growth of the country. The policy also focuses on implementation of special schemes in the identified districts as export hubs, internationalisation of trade, internationalisation of trade in rupees, is reflective of India’s increasing standing in the global trade and also helps in making rupee stronger and gradually reduce dollar hegemony in the global trade.
This is India’s moment in the Sun. There is no doubt that the new aspirational India heralds a new era of optimism, growth, peace and prosperity with several new initiatives of facilitation. It will give a great thrust to the glorious India.
