Exuding hope that exports of goods and services from the country would reach $1 trillion each by 2030, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal today said that the world wants a trusted partner like India.
Speaking at the 51st National Awards for Export Excellence ceremony organised by EEPC India, Goyal urged the industry and each sector to collectively work on quality, productivity and economies of scale.
He said that the government on its part would ensure greater market access for the exporters.
Talking about the recently-signed free trade pacts with the UAE and Australia, the Hon’ble Minister said that both agreements were concluded in record time.
He noted that India had signed such trade agreements after almost a decade and there was no negative feedback or reports from any quarter.
“There have been no negative reports, articles on either of the two FTAs. Not even a single sector has criticized the FTAs, neither in India, nor in UAE, nor in Australia,” Goyal said.
“You can imagine how deeply we engaged in our consultations with each industry, each export promotion council, every line ministry and each department. Extensive consultation was done,” he noted.
Goyal complimented EEPC India for remarkable contribution to exports in the financial year ending March 2022.
Hon’ble Minister said that Indian industry is today not scared of competition from outside.
“India does not fear competition now. We are now firmly standing to face any competition,” he said.
Goyal said that there is a clear direction from the Prime Minister to create an enabling environment for trade and businesses focussing on lower compliance and decriminalising laws.
“The Prime Minister has said that there should be ease of doing business and not jail for doing business. Unless there is grave crime which compromises on safety risking people’s lives or malafide intention, trust the people.
Take self-certification as a norm. Don’t force people to run to government offices for every work. Rules should be simpler,” he said.
In his welcome address, EEPC India Chairman Mr Mahesh Desai said that in spite of the remarkable comeback of the engineering exports in 2021-22, some threats are still on sight.
“The Pandemic-led uncertainties have not yet fully waned off, oil prices are alarmingly high while geo-political issues in some regions are adding fuels to threats. Back home, the exporting community also faces some domestic issues that could hamper the growth of exports in the time ahead,” he said.
In order to ensure the current pace of growth of engineering exports in the years to come, Desai requested the government to allow RoDTEP credit for payment of IGST against imports.
He also proposed to lower Income Tax from 22% to 15% for MSME exporter companies and from 30% to 15% for LLP, Partnership firms and Proprietary firms.
“Export Finance should be available at the repo rate of RBI. As banks are adding spreads of 2-3% for Repo Linked Lending Rate (RLLR), RBI may consider refinance to banks at bank rate of RBI. Further, exporters should get exchange of dollar at REER announced by RBI for dollar. The present rate is above Rs 100. We sincerely hope that the government will be at its best to address our concerns as always,” suggested Desai.
Dr. Srikar K. Reddy, Hon’ble Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce also graced the occasion. Mr. Arun Kumar Garodia, Vice Chairman, EEPC India and Pankaj Chadha, WC Member, EEPC India were also present.
Desai thanked Dr Reddy for all his support and presence during the award ceremony.
Extending congratulations to 111 National Award winners, Mr Desai said that they are today the true champions as they have demonstrated their significant commitment to the cause of exporting of goods and brand value creation.
Among the winners of the prestigious EEPC India National Award for the year 2018-19 are BHEL, NALCO, HAL, TATA Motors, RINL (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd), JSW Steel, Toshiba, Toyota Kirloskar, Bharat Forge and Bajaj Auto.
The winners represent 34 product groups across 7 categories. Companies and firms ranging from micro units to large enterprises have bagged the coveted prize by making all-out attempt to excel in their areas and keep the nation’s flag high by adhering to the quality standards.
No matter how big the challenges come the way, for the engineering goods exporters sky is the limit.
• Goyal urges industry and each sector to collectively work on quality, productivity and economies of scale
• India does not fear competition now. We are now firmly standing to face any competition, Goyal says
• Government on its part would ensure greater market access for exporters, says Mr Goyal at 51st National Awards for Export Excellence ceremony organised by EEPC India
• Goyal complimented EEPC India for remarkable contribution to exports and congratulated all the awardees
• 111 exporters in 34 product groups bag EEPC India National Award 2018-19 across 7 categories
• BHEL, NALCO, HAL, TATA Motors, RINL JSW Steel, Toshiba, Toyota Kirloskar, Bharat Forge and Bajaj Auto among winners