Agriculture should be made more profitable, sustainable and resilient: Vice President

Publish Date: January 12, 2019

Reforms taken by the Government of India will continue, the mood of the people is in favour of growth and development: Vice President

India has achieved the dual distinction of being a stable democracy and one of the fastest growing economies in the world: Vice President

We should promote more innovation that addresses the problems of the common citizen: Venkaiah Naidu

Need to equip India’s youth with skills and opportunities so that we can reap the demographic dividend: Vice President

25th CII Partnership Summit Inaugurated

Posted On: 12 JAN 2019 by PIB Mumbai

The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has stated that reforms and steps taken by the Government of India to improve Ease of Doing Business will continue, since the mood of the people is in favour of growth and development, in line with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s mantra of “Reform, Perform and Transform”. He said that Indian economy has been writing a fascinating growth story over the last decade. Even when the world went into a slowdown, India endured. The VP said that this has been due to the robustness of India’s institutions, the resilience of its policy frameworks, the reforms initiated by the government and the responsiveness of industry bodies. The Vice President was addressing the inaugural session of the 25th edition of the CII Partnership Summit, in Mumbai today.

The VP noted that India has achieved the dual distinction of being a stable democracy and one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Recounting the latest forecast of the World Bank, Shri Naidu said that the size of the Indian economy is expected to touch $5 trillion in a few years, which would further double to $10 trillion by 2030.

The Vice President said that thanks to various reforms undertaken by the Government, India has become a favourite investment destination, with a ranking of 11 in the Global FDI confidence Index 2018. This is the right time for foreign investors to tap into the huge potential offered by India in various sectors from real estate to healthcare, said Shri Naidu. The Vice President spoke also said that the Indian consumer market has huge untapped potential.

The Vice President said that a series of economic and administrative reforms undertaken by the Government have not only added more tax payers but also enabled the government to bring down tax rates, also improving the way business is done. These are also aimed at making the economy inclusive, he said. GST is the most transformational reform initiated by the Government; it has converted India into an integrated market, it has become popular and captured the imagination of the people, said the VP. He added that initiatives such as Make in India, Skill India, Digital India, Smart Cities, Housing for All scheme and Start-up India are opening up new opportunities.

The Vice President said that 1.21 lakh Gram Panchayats are connected with optical fibre network, and that remaining gram panchayats would be connected by March 2019. This will transform rural India by enabling access to digital transactions and online sales of products, and agricultural produce via e-NAM, he stated.

The Vice President expressed satisfaction that states in the country are competing among themselves in a healthy manner to attract investments. Simplifying rules, decentralization and removing discretionary powers will play a key role in quickening pace of development. States should encourage local bodies to function effectively by providing the three Fs—funds, functions and functionaries, said the Vice President.

He said that it is time to move from discussions to concrete action at global stage against those who are indulging and abetting terror. Along with that, we need to combat corruption, especially in the financial sector, the Vice President said.

Forging new and more meaningful partnerships and value chains in the international market is an imperative for India, in developing an environment that enables companies to conduct business activities across borders freely and smoothly, said the Vice President.

The Vice President said that the steps for achieving a robust growth rate, suggested by NITI Aayog in its report, ‘Strategy for New India @ 75’, will form the cornerstone of the Government of India’s strategy going forward.

Shri Naidu said that agriculture is the basic culture of the country. He said that we need to focus and strengthen our agricultural sector, by bringing in long-term structural changes. Agriculture needs to be made profitable, sustainable and resilient. We must focus on home-grown food security for all, more investment, crop diversification and value addition, said the Vice President.

The Vice President said that we should strive to promote innovation and invest more time and money in R&D, which should address the everyday problems faced by the common man.

The Vice President implored industry bodies like the CII to promote business ethics, values, transparency and accountability. Bodies like CII should also try weed out black sheep who bring a bad name to the business community, he said.

Shri Naidu told the audience that India is at the cusp of a demographic dividend. The need of the hour is to impart our youth with skills and provide them with opportunities so that we can reap this demographic dividend. He said that the private sector also needs to play a role in this. He also urged them to be equal opportunity employers and to not practice discrimination against women in any form or at any level.

The Vice President concluded by observing that India has a billion dreams to nurture, nourish and take to fruition. He expressed hope that the Indian industry will be an equal partner in India’s quest for sustainable and inclusive development. He stated that summits such as CII Partnership Summit are crucial for us to from one another, understand the best practices from around the globe and share knowledge and practical wisdom. Hope that this summit serves as a launch pad for the dreams of Indian Industry in 2019, said the Vice President.

Welcoming the delegates, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Shri Suresh Prabhu said that delegates from all parts of the world have come together to participate in the Summit. He noted that 86 countries are going to participate in the upcoming Global Aviation Summit on January 15 & 16, 2019 and the Vibrant Gujarat 2019 Summit is also going to witness global participation. This shows the importance of global partnerships, said the Minister. He said it should be our cooperative endeavour to make world the economy grow, for which partnerships and mutually rewarding relationships are a must. Shri Prabhu said that the Government wants to make sure that India becomes a friend of almost all countries in the world, so that the country is able to offer a platform which is mutually beneficial. He said that he sees great opportunity in India’s plans to become a $ 10 trillion economy by 2035. As an example, he cited the joint efforts by India and South Korea towards developing a dynamic world trading platform.

The Minister said that the Government of India’s strategy is from grassroots to global, manufacturing to services, agriculture to value-added and FDI by India to investment in other countries. He said that a National Industrial Policy is awaiting Cabinet approval, aimed to develop global value chains and boost manufacturing competitiveness. He informed that the Government has come out with the first ever Agricultural Export Policy to take its agricultural exports from $ 30 billion to $ 100 billion in the next few years. He said that India can work together with other nations where agricultural production happens under a quality control regime approved by the importing countries.

The Minister said that India got the highest ever FDI in 2018, which was higher than many of its neighbouring countries. He said this shows the global appetite for investment into India. Shri Prabhu said that Indian investors are also looking towards making investments in various countries such as UAE, South Korea and others.

Besides taking steps to get integrated into the global economy, the Government is also working towards improving grassroots growth, said the Minister. He said that the Government is targeting specific districts so that the district-level growth rate improves incrementally by 3% – 4%, resulting in corresponding improvements in national growth rate.

Minister for Industries and Mining, Government of Maharashtra, Shri Subhash Desai thanked the Union Commerce Minister in having given an opportunity for Maharashtra to host the CII Partnership Summit. Referring to the Vice President of India’s vision in creating an industry-friendly environment, he said that the state has put the best efforts in this direction, through platforms such as Maitri. He expressed confidence that the Summit will improve the relationship between India and other countries.

Minister of Economy, UAE, Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori said in his address spoke of the vibrant and growing relationship between India and UAE. He recalled that the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to UAE witnessed the signing of many significant MoUs, especially in the field of energy. He observed that in 2017, India exported the largest number of visitors to the UAE. He said that the role of trade in industrial relations is significant, and that India and UAE share a rich trade history. He informed the audience about the Innovation Strategy formulated by the nation and said that the country is willing to create a business model out of it. He invited India to come and participate in this.

Minister of Trade, South Korea, Mr. Kim Hyun Chong lauded GST, stating that it is the most outstanding policy reform undertaken by the Government of India. India and South Korea are highly positive about each other’s growth potential. The Minister said that the foundation of bilateral trade between the two countries has to be strengthened. He stated that India and South Korea should expand bilateral cooperation in cutting-edge industry, which will make the 4th Industrial Revolution an opportunity, and not a challenge.

Director General, WIPO, Mr. Francis Gurry complimented India’s engagements at the international intellectual property system. He recalled that India has been the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty, which seeks to facilitate access to published works for persons who are visually impaired. Mr. Gurry said that the basis of competition among leading economies is innovation. IP being a necessary of a robust innovation ecosystem, the demand for IP rights has been increasing globally. He said it is a remarkable development that two-thirds of IP applications are coming out of Asia. He said that he also looks forward to India playing a significant role in the regulation of data and information in promoting the innovation ecosystem.

Secretary, DIPP, Shri Ramesh Abhishek said that India is entering a stage where the extent of wealth creation is going to be unprecedented. He said transformative developments have led to India’s improvement in Ease of Doing Business rankings, Global Innovation Index, Global Logistics Performance Index and Global Competitive Index of WEF. He said this is evidence that our reforms are being recognized all over the world. The Secretary observed that introduction of GST is a great example of teamwork, where Central and state governments have worked together. He welcomed all delegates to the New India that is emerging.

Earlier, the Director General, CII, Shri Chandrajit Banerjee welcomed the audience and said that the basic premise of the summit is partnership, for a greater and better mutual understanding among various stakeholders. He said that the summit comes at an opportune time in deciding the way various strategic challenges facing the nation are to be addressed.

Vice President, CII, Shri Vikram Kirloskar said that many key reforms initiated by the Government of India will contribute positively to the growth of the Indian economy. He said that social impact campaigns such as financial inclusion and financial technology are reaping fruit. He said that India has become a stable and economically sound alternative for multinational businesses.