India's exports have to contribute $1 trn for a $5 trn economy: Goyal

Speaking at the Assocham Annual Session, the minister said the Budget 2023 has reinforced the government's commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and that the bold initiatives undertaken will help India become a global manufacturing giant and a global player in international trade.

"If you want to become a USD five trillion economy, our exports will have to be USD one trillion at least; ideally 25 percent, but at the very least, 20 per cent. Why I am saying this is we have to support our import of oil and therefore our exports will have to go up by leaps and bounds so that we can continue to finance our imports and strengthen the rupee in the days to come," Goyal said.

The minister further said that in contrary to the belief of many exporters or industry that a weak rupee supports exports, the minister said he believes a strong currency is good for exports.

"I am personally not of the old school. There is one section of exporters or industry which feels a weak rupee or currency supports exports. I believe a strong currency reflects the strength of a nation and will always be good for exports. India is a net importer of goods and a strong currency supports the Indian economy," Goyal added.

The minister also called on the industry to adopt high quality standards for goods, benchmarked to the best in world.

"The time is ripe for us to leverage the edge of economies of scale, demographic dividend, good governance and the encouragement we are giving to innovation, quality and efficiency. This edge is what is going to hold us in good stead as we go forward clearly improving our quality standard. I believe productivity will help us become more competitive in the world and the hallmark of India of the future, either in goods or services, will be quality, productivity and efficiency," Goyal said.

He further stressed on having a single benchmark for quality of goods produced in the country for both domestic and international markets.

"Industry and stakeholders should start accepting quality control orders, start accepting high quality standards benchmarked to the best in the world," he said, adding that industries which accepted world standards are growing rapidly but those which remained confined to traditional ways of working or hesitated to invest in technology and hesitated to adopt quality standards, are suffering today.

Goyal further added that the government is working towards providing ecosystem which is more friendly to attract global manufacturing giants as companies look to more resilient and diverse supply chains.