Cut waste, curb imports: Piyush Goyal’s ‘wake-up call’ to Indian industry

Indian industry must focus on reducing waste, improving productivity and lowering the country’s import bill to collectively strengthen the economy amid global uncertainties, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

Addressing the annual summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi, Goyal said the current global geopolitical and economic environment should be seen as a “wake-up call” for India to become more efficient, productive and self-reliant.

Calling for greater efficiency across sectors, the minister urged industry to focus on reducing waste, improving productivity and cutting the import bill “in every possible way”. Referring to the LED lighting programme launched in 2015, he said energy-efficiency measures have helped save nearly $10 billion annually in energy costs while also contributing to sustainability and environmental protection.

He added that investments in public transport infrastructure, including metros and rapid rail systems, along with conscious efforts by industry and citizens, would collectively strengthen the economy.

Goyal said India remains the fastest-growing large economy and is set to record all-time high exports of nearly $863 billion this year. He also said India has nearly 11 months of import cover in foreign exchange reserves. He added that the country’s trade deficit in goods and services together is “much lower” than annual remittances, reflecting strong economic performance despite global geopolitical and economic challenges.

Access to major markets

On trade agreements, Goyal said the nine free trade agreements signed in the past three-and-a-half years, covering 38 countries, are all with developed economies and will help India attract investments and expand exports by providing access to large global markets with significant import demand.

He said countries such as Switzerland, the US and nations in the European Union have much higher per-capita incomes and cannot manufacture products at costs lower than India, even though they possess strong technological and industrial capabilities.

Calling for greater adoption of emerging technologies, Goyal urged industry to leverage artificial intelligence, robotics and quantum computing as force multipliers for growth and competitiveness. He said AI should be used to improve productivity, capture larger markets and grow businesses rather than simply reduce manpower.

Highlighting the rapid growth of global capability centres (GCCs), Goyal said nearly 1,800 GCCs already operate in India and another 500 are expected in the coming years. Exports from GCCs are growing by nearly 40-50% annually and currently stand at around $50 billion, he said, adding that these centres employ nearly two million people directly.

Calling on industry to work towards the target of $2 trillion of exports over the next five to six years, the minister said the goal was achievable with annual export growth of around 15%. He also urged businesses to move from “assembled in India” to “designed, engineered and manufactured in India”, while stressing that quality should be non-negotiable and Indian manufacturing standards must rise to global levels.