Exports are vital, domestic market also important

Aamir H Kaki

Exports are vital for the growth of the country but due to sluggish global demand, India needs to focus on the domestic market, said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, while addressing a conference, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday in New Delhi.

Laying emphasis on making India a favorable destination, he said. “The key for growth is that India must become a favourable destination for doing business." And for that to happen, the government must simplify the processes needed to do business. Lauding the government's efforts in these areas, he said a number of reforms, from licenses to bankruptcy codes have been undertaken by the government especially in the last few years.

“However, the challenge is to bring India in top 50 destinations of the world in ease of doing business. And every department is working together to make India reach that level. If India grows at a rate of 9-10 percent year-on-year, then it will definitely come in the top 30 positions in the next 3 decades.”

The growth of a country is based on several factors, infrastructure being one of them. "Building a proper infrastructure can play a key role in the growth of the manufacturing industry. Infrastructure construction can drive manufacturing growth and India must be an easy and simple place to do business,” he said. I was analyzing the performance in the infrastructure sector and found that there has been a quantum jump in delivery and progress in both roads and railways, in the last two years, which is unbelievable.” he added. India can see a lot of growth and development in the infrastructure sector in the coming years.

Speaking at the event, Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), said that major economies of the world, such as China, follow export-led growth. However, export-led growth is not easy for India. “The major challenge is to make manufacturing industry competitive, otherwise, the growth of exports is not possible,” he said. Echoing Amitabh's views, he mentioned that reforms in the ease of doing business especially online will be a game changer for lowering the manufacturing transaction costs. 

“For trading across borders, there is a single window interface for facilitating cross-border trade and it has been a huge success,” he added.

Abhishek identified the sectors of footwear, textiles, agro and food processing and gems and jewellery etc, for generation of employment. “There is potential in every sector for jobs but sectors have to be competitive,” he added.