Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Piyush Goyal has said that his ministry was looking at identifying select electronic items that could be manufactured in India in large scale like television sets, Closed Circuit TVs, Air Conditioners etc., and exported in large quantities. Interacting with members of Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) through a video conference recently, the minister called on the industry to give specific suggestions regarding such products and the policy interventions that were required to make them competitive. The government would help in creating a conductive ecosystem for such products to be manufactured and exported.
Calling upon the electronics hardware sector to use the route of innovation, R&D, expansion of domestic footprints, and increasing exports, the minister said that industries which are more self-reliant and grew without the support of the government, have made their mark. In this regard, he flagged the trailblazing example of IT, ITeS and BPO sectors, which have established a formidable position as a solution provider and exporter. Depending exclusively on incentives, such as Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), the minister said, may not add to the competitiveness of the products since such schemes are time bound and export competitiveness should come from inherent strengths. He also underscored the need for the industry and the government to come together to implement the National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA), which is used for engineering solutions to extremely complex problems in computing, communications, sensing, chemistry, cryptography, imaging, and mechanics.
Referring to the need of having quality and accurate data for the software and services exports from the country, Goyal said that his ministry was taking up this issue with RBI. Assuring full support to the Electronics and Computer Software sector, he said that the industry has been increasing indigenous production in the last couple of years, and expected the sector to rise to the occasion to the prime Minister’s clarion call for Aatamnirbhar Bharat. Underscoring the need for trust between the government and industry to push the Prime Minister’s vision of Aatamnirbhar Bharat, the minister said that the two should come together to tap the enormous business potentials that are unbound. “This government works towards giving industry an enabling ecosystem and it is for industry to chart their futuristic agenda not only for creating newer capacities, but also making Indian products world class and that is the essence of Aatmanribhar Bharat,” he added.
The minister unveiled the strategic paper, prepared by ESC, for augmenting India’s exports in electronics hardware and computer software. The paper contains several suggestions to accelerate India’s exports from these two sectors.