New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the manufacturing sector can benefit from the new energy of the startups.
She urged the industry to keep a close watch on innovations coming from startups. “The manufacturing sector can benefit from the new energy of the startups for all sectors including the sunrise sector,” the Union minister, which also manages corporate affairs portfolio, was saying during the FICCI’s 95th annual convention and annual general meeting (AGM).
She said that the upcoming Union Budget would follow the spirits of the earlier budgets. “We are not only going to set the template which were set earlier but follow it and take it further for India’s next 25 years. In 2047, we look forward to our children living in India which will be far more developed,” she emphasised.
Sitharaman added that there was a need to further strengthen the Indian manufacturing sector along with exploring newer areas of the service sector.
Speaking on the global uncertainties, the Finance Minister urged the Indian industry to focus on opportunities arising from them. “The suspected long-drawn recession which is likely to affect in West will not just impact your (industry) exports but it gives us an opportunity for many of the investments which are now looking for a different place from where the activities can continue to happen. It is the best time for the Indian industry to work on strategies for drawing those manufacturers to India,” she added.
The Minister advised the Indian industry that as the world transitions into clean energy, the domestic industry could face higher tariffs by the developed countries.
She also urged the industry to tell the government on how climate change is affecting them and suggest ways to reduce the burden of cost falling on them.
“The industry should prepare itself for tariff walls by some countries in the name of climate change,” she highlighted.
Speaking on the G20, Sitharaman said India’s achievements in terms of digital capabilities that the country has, including financial area, payments area, banking, health or education, the achievements are stunning. “The government is using every opportunity during the G20 to showcase it so that countries which are interested in any of the digital achievements of India can benefit from it,” she added.
Sitharaman stated that as per the World Economic Forum’s report, there shall be an additional 140 million middle-income households and 14 million high-net-worth individual households which will be part of India’s economy by 2030. This will provide an additional base for the domestic industry to generate demand, she added.
Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI, said that India was on the cusp of becoming the third largest economy. The transformation policy along with reform measures taken by the government have helped strengthen the foundation for it. “I firmly believe that the industry’s own growth and profits are intertwined with the people and planet approach,” he added.
Subhrakant Panda, President-Elect, FICCI, said that India was better prepared than it had ever been to deal with short-term turbulence without losing sight of the huge opportunity which is there. Speaking on the upcoming Union Budget, Panda added that the Indian industry has great expectations that the Budget 2023 will be growth-oriented and build further on the foundation of government’s initiatives over the last eight years. (ANI)
