Export boom to propel India to $10 trillion economy by 2030: Goyal

Dubai - Total merchandise exports from India stood at $187.11 billion in H1.

India’s ambitious goal to become a $10 trillion economic powerhouse by 2030 could be achieved through an exponential jump in goods and services exports targeted to reach a phenomenal $2 trillion, Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, said on Sunday.

India, he said, will aim to more than double its annual goods and services exports to over $1 trillion by fiscal 2026 under the new foreign trade policy as it seeks to dovetail its policies to cash in on an expected rebound in global economic growth.

The ambitious target warrants a substantial, and sustained, scaling up of exports — to a compounded annual growth rate of 15 per cent until FY2026 from about five per cent in the five years through FY20 (before the pandemic).

The minister said the game-plan to boost exports to such a high level is to enable a free race between the goods and services sectors, which currently claim an export value of $294 billion and $194 billion respectively.

“Our goal is to enable both sectors to reach an export target of $1 trillion each in the long-term,” he said.

In the first half of the year, total merchandise exports from India stood at $187.11 billion, nearly 57 per cent higher than 2020 and 23.8 per cent over 2019. “We will have a record year with our exports hitting the government target of $400 billion for 2021-22,” the minister said. The aim is to achieve the $1 trillion target by 2025 in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat goal.

Addressing a seminar on “India making resurgent stride towards a $5 trillion economy” by 2025, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Dubai) Chapter, Goyal said India’s foreign trade has exceeded expectations. “Our exports to the UAE will also be seeing a remarkable jump, from the current $40 billion to $100 billion in the coming years,” said the minister whose portfolio also comprises Consumer Affairs & Food, & Public Distribution and Textiles.

Also present at the discussion were Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pawan Kapoor, Sunder Nurani, chairman, and Anurag Chaturvedi, vice chairman, both of ICAI (Dubai) chapter

He said Indian-UAE relations have entered a new era of increased bonding and cooperation between the leaders and people. The new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), expected to be reached by the end of December 2021, is a testimony of the strengthening engagement between the two “twin nations. The signing of the CEPA is expected to be in March 2022.

He said the UAE government has committed to invest $75 billion sovereign funds in India and the two partners have shared a vision for clean energy as they are working together to start manufacturing equipment for solar power.

Goyal, himself a chartered accountant, said more than 7,000 chartered accountants working in the UAE play a significant role in nation-building as they act as a bridge between the regulators and businesses while acting as custodian of trust by having the right diligence on the financial matters.

He emphasised that every chartered accountant should take the opportunity of Dubai Expo 2020 to showcase India, its strength in various sectors including textiles, information technology, automobile, and gaming.

The minister pointed out that the Government of India has many PLI’s (production linked incentives) in various industries aimed at transforming India as the preferred investment destination.

He praised the UAE leadership for taking care of millions of Indians during the pandemic and enhancing the ease of doing business in the UAE.

Stressing Modi's call for “Sabka Prayas” (everyone’s effort) for building a self-reliant India, he urged all CAs to contribute to the nation-building by spreading awareness about India and its heritage with ambitious capabilities as well as its highly progressive start-up ecosystem.

He said a testimony for India’s investment and start-up ecosystem is its fast-growing unicorns. India added 28 new unicorns in the first nine months of 2021, taking the total number of unicorns in to 66. This gives the country a chance to double the number of unicorns from last year. India had 38 unicorns at the end of 2020.

According to the latest data, about 90 per cent of startups turned unicorns in 10 or fewer years from their year of incorporation out of which 70 per cent turned unicorns in less than five years. India currently has three "decacorns", companies with a valuation of over $10 billion.

Answering questions from the members, Goyal stressed the need to give back to society in any form. He explained that members may assist with the education of unprivileged children or extend funding for a start-up entity. “This way, we not only help those who directly benefit from this but also families who will benefit from this in the future. We should strive to take prosperity to the villages,” said the minister. — issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com