My cabinet colleagues Shri Piyush Goyal ji, Shri Som Parkash ji and Smt Anupriya Patel ji, all colleagues from industry and exports, other dignitaries, ladies and gentlemen!
Today another important step has been taken in the journey of Citizen Centric Governance in New India on which the country has been moving for the last eight years. The country has got new gifts in the form of a new and modern Vanijya Bhawan as well as an export portal. One of these symbolizes physical infrastructure whereas the other is a symbol of digital infrastructure representing a positive change in our governance related to trade and commerce and our aspirations for a self-reliant India. I congratulate all of you, the entire community associated with trade and commerce, and especially our MSMEs, on this occasion. Today is the death anniversary of the country's first Industries Minister Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee. His policies, decisions, resolve and accomplishment of his resolutions have been very important in giving direction to independent India. Today the country is paying its humble tributes to him.
Friends,
I am sure that you are entering the new Vanijya Bhawan with new inspiration and determination. This resolution is for Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living through Ease of Doing Business. And the link between these two is Ease of Access. No one should be inconvenienced while communicating with the government and accessing government facilities, such Ease of Access is the priority of the country. The most important aspect of the governance model of the last eight years has been that the citizens of the country should have access to basic facilities, banking and government policy making. This vision reflects India’s policies and decisions for its economic development. The basic spirit behind this Ease of Access is emergence of crores of entrepreneurs under the Mudra Yojana, encouragement to lakhs of MSMEs through policy and bank credit, facility of bank credit to lakhs of street vendors in villages and small towns and continuous efforts for the growth of thousands of start-ups. The all-round development is possible only when the benefits of the government's schemes reach everyone and without discrimination. I am happy that this spirit of Ease of Access and development for all is reflected in this new Vanijya Bhawan.
Friends,
The term SOP i.e, Standard Operating Procedure is very popular among all of you, that is, a certain way of doing things. Earlier, the SOP of the governments meant the launch of a project, but no guarantee of its completion. Announcements were made for political interests, but there was no seriousness regarding their timely completion. This building is another example of how we have changed this perception. And as has been mentioned now, it is a coincidence that I laid the foundation stone of this building on 22nd June, 2018 and today it is being inaugurated on 23rd June 2022. In the meantime, there were many hurdles too due to Corona. But in spite of all this, the resolution is in front of us today in the form of accomplishment. This is the new SOP of New India that is sincere efforts on the timeline of any project’s inauguration begin the day its foundation stone is laid. You will find many such examples in Delhi itself in the past few years. Just a few days ago, I was privileged to inaugurate the Integrated Transit Corridor near Pragati Maidan. The government's projects do not hang for years, are completed on time and the government's schemes reach their goals, then only the taxpayer of the country is respected. And now we also have a modern platform in the form of the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan. Keeping in mind the aspirations of New India, this new Vanijya Bhawan also has to give impetus to the country in every field.
Friends,
From the launch to the inauguration, the Vanijya Bhawan is also a symbol of our achievements in the field of commerce during this period. I remember I stressed on the need for innovation and improvement in the Global Innovation Index during the foundation stone function. Today we are ranked 46th in the Global Innovation Index and are continuously improving. We discussed the need to improve the ease of doing business on the day of the foundation stone. Today, when this building is being inaugurated, more than 32,000 unnecessary compliances have been done away with since then. Can you imagine 32,000 compliances? Only a few months had passed since the GST was implemented at the time of foundation stone and there were all kinds of doubts and apprehensions. Today, the GST collection of Rs 1 lakh crore every month has become normal. During the foundation stone of Vanijya Bhawan, we had discussed the order of about 9,000 crore rupees on the GeM portal. Today, 45 lakh small entrepreneurs are registered on this portal and orders worth more than Rs. 2.25 lakh crore have been placed on the GeM.
Friends,
At that time, I had mentioned the increase in the number of mobile manufacturing units from 2 to 120 after 2014. Today this number is more than 200 and we have emerged as a force from importers to the world's largest mobile phone exporters. Four years ago, there were less than 500 registered fintech start-ups in India. Today their number has crossed almost 2300. We used to recognize 8,000 start-ups every year then, today this number is going up to 15,000. Despite the global pandemic, we have achieved so much by setting goals and realizing them with sincere efforts.
Friends,
Our export eco-system is the best example of our approach of accomplishment with determination in the new India today. During the foundation stone laying ceremony, we had resolved to make India a preferred manufacturing destination to increase global exports. Last year, despite the historic global disruptions that destroyed the entire supply chain, India’s exports amounted to $ 670 billion, i.e. 50 lakh crore rupees. You also know how unprecedented this figure is. Last year, the country had decided to achieve the milestone of $ 400 billion i.e. 30 lakh crore rupees of merchandise export despite every challenge. We crossed this and made a record export of $ 418 billion i.e. 31 lakh crore rupees.
Friends,
Encouraged by this success of the past few years, we have now increased our export targets and have doubled our efforts to achieve them. Collective effort of everyone is very necessary to achieve these new goals. Members of industry and export promotion councils are also present here. I also urge you to set not only short-term but long- term targets of export at your level also. It is also very important to work together as to how to reach those targets and how the government can help in this regard.
Friends,
The National Import-Export for Yearly Analysis of Trade i.e. NIRYAT platform is a step in this direction. Everyone, including exporters, different departments of the government, state governments and all stakeholders, will have access to real time data. This will help in breaking down many silos helping our industry and exporters to take necessary decisions. Important information related to more than 30 commodity groups exported to more than 200 countries of the world will be available to you on this portal. Soon, information related to district wise exports will also be available on this portal. And the ‘One district-One product’ which is on mission mode will eventually be added here as well. This will also strengthen the efforts to make the districts important centers of exports. I am sure this portal will also help in promoting healthy competition in the states in the field of exports. We want a healthy competition among the states -- which state exports how much, how many destinations it covers and how many different goods it exports.
Friends,
If we study the development journey of different countries, it is common to find that the progress of those countries happened only when their exports increased. That is, export plays a big role in becoming a developed country from a developing country. Due to this employment and self-employment opportunities also increase. In the last eight years, India has also been continuously increasing its exports and achieving export goals. Better policies to increase exports, easing of the process and taking products to new markets have helped a lot in this regard. And now we are focusing equally on logistics support so that our exports become cost effective. You also know how the PLI scheme is helping to increase manufacturing. The policy changes based on the feedback from our export partners have also helped a lot. Today, every ministry, every department, of the government is giving priority to increasing exports with a 'whole of government' approach. Be it the Ministry of MSME or Ministry of External Affairs, Agriculture or Commerce, all are making common efforts for a common goal. A large number of engineering goods account for our exports and the MSME sector, in particular, has played an important role in this regard. Exports are also increasing from newer areas of the country and exports have now increased manifold even from so many aspirational districts. The increase in exports of cotton and handloom products by 55 per cent shows how the work is being done at the grassroots level. The government's emphasis on local products through the ‘Vocal for Local’ and 'One-district, One-product' campaigns has also helped in increasing exports. Now many of our products are being exported for the first time to new countries and new destinations of the world. Now our local products are moving at a fast pace towards becoming truly global. The first consignment of Sitabhog sweets and Narkel Naru i.e. coconut and jaggery laddu has been exported to Bahrain. Fresh King Chilli from Nagaland is going to the markets of London, while Fresh Burmese Grapes from Assam are exported to Dubai. Mahua flowers, the forest produce of our tribal brothers and sisters of Chhattisgarh, have been exported to France and Kargil's Khumani to Dubai. Handloom products have been introduced to new markets such as Aruba, Belize, Bermuda, Grenada and Switzerland. We are also helping and emphasizing GI tagging to connect our farmers, weavers and traditional products with the export ecosystem. Last year, we finalized trade deals with the UAE and Australia and there has been a lot of progress with other countries as well. I would also like to praise our diplomatic missions abroad. All our missions deserve to be congratulated for working to convert a very challenging environment into opportunities for India.
Friends,
Identifying new markets for business and identifying their needs and manufacturing those products are very important for the progress of the country. In the past our traders have shown how mutual partnership and trust based business can flourish. We have to strengthen this learning of value and supply chain in the ‘Amrit Kaal’ of independence. On the basis of similar values, we have completed trade deals with the UAE and Australia. We are moving rapidly towards such deals with many countries and regions as well.
Friends,
The achievements of the country in the last eight years fill every Indian with pride. With this spirit we have to work for the resolutions for the next 25 years during this ‘Amrit Kaal’ of independence. Today a new building has been built and a new portal has also been launched. But our responsibility is not over. In a way, it is the beginning of new achievements at a rapid pace with new resolutions and energy. I would also urge every department to assess the performance of the portals and the platforms that we have created from time to time. Efforts should be made to ensure the goals for which we have developed these tools and if there is a problem then it should be solved. I urge the industry colleagues and exporters also to put across their points openly in front of the government and come up with innovative suggestions and solutions. We want to find a solution together. You visit the NIRYAT portal and suggest what needs to be added or removed. What provisions can be made to increase exports at the district level? We have to bring healthy competition in the field of exports at the district level. We also have to bring this competition of ‘Zero defect, Zero effect’ on the world class packaging among our manufacturers. We can realize our colossal resolutions with everyone's inputs, everyone's suggestions, that is, with ‘Sabka Prayas’ (everyone's effort). Once again, congratulations to all of you for the new building and I am very grateful to the department for inviting me to participate in this auspicious project. Thanks a lot! Best wishes.
