Government committed to procure from domestic players: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi/ Lucknow: "Govt is committed to its promise of Make in India, Make for the world", Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reiterated the Government's resolve of providing a market to the domestic industries in Lucknow on Saturday. He was speaking at a workshop on the financial market organised by the Lucknow branch of the Central India Regional Council (CIRC) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The workshop was organised to update the participants about the new developments related to the economy and train & motivate them to deal with future challenges related to the sector.

Speaking on the occasion, the Defence Minister stated that a number of steps have been taken to encourage procurement from domestic players. This is not just catering to the domestic needs, but fulfilling international demands, in line with the vision of 'Make in India, Make for the World'.

He added that all efforts are being made for domestic companies to enhance access to foreign markets so that they can make a mark in the international market.

The Minister said that the world economy is going through a challenging phase due to the supply chain disruptions and logistical bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and now the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"Russia and Ukraine are important commodity producers. Russia is a major producer of food grains and hydro-carbons, while Ukraine is an important producer of wheat, etc. Therefore, the ongoing conflict has impacted the whole world. Since we import hydro-carbon and oil seeds in large quantities, their prices have affected our country. Food & fuel prices have gone up. Core inflation has also increased due to the global supply chain and other logistical bottlenecks," he said.

Noting that the disturbances and uncertainties caused due to COVID-19 reduced private consumption expenditures, Rajnath Singh asserted that the Government has initiated a number of steps to deal with these challenges and the results are visible.

"According to surveys of many agencies, India continues to grow as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world. Our exports continue to set new records and are likely to increase further. A major free trade agreement has been signed with Australia and similar agreements with other partner countries as well," he added.

The Defence Minister also spoke of the gross GST revenue collection which was the highest ever at Rs 1.68 lakh crore for April 2022. He defined tax collection as a means of completing works of public interest and said the same revenue is reaching more than 80 crore people in the form of free food grains through 'Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana' during the COVID-19 situation. He added that new investments are being made at the global and domestic levels which are expected to ease the pressure on the supply chain.

Throwing light on the PM Gatishakti – National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity introduced by Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, Mr Rajnath Singh termed it as the Government's long-term response to logistical bottlenecks. He said expenditure of up to Rs100 lakh crore has been envisioned to execute this master plan.

The Defence Minister stressed that the construction of infrastructure projects like roads, railways, airports, ports and shipping is one of the top priorities of the Government, adding that the Production Linked Incentive Scheme has led to an increase in private investment which will strengthen the demand in the economy. He also mentioned the direct income support to farmers, PM KISAN, and other income support interventions that aim to provide a fillip to the private consumption expenditure.

Rajnath Singh asserted that due to these efforts, the domestic demand, whether it is related to investment or consumption, is rapidly increasing. "We are witnessing a V-shaped recovery after the pandemic. Our focus on infrastructure and logistics has started to remove bottlenecks on the supply side. Contact-based services are also gaining momentum due to the success of our COVID-19 vaccination drive. This is a good sign for our economy to come back on track," he said.

The Defence Minister shared insights on the key aspects required for the growth of the economy, namely skilled human resources; capital; technology; markets and institutions such as the Rule of Law, independent courts, free press and regulatory system. He pointed out that the Government has taken a number of measures to strengthen these aspects. He said, to strengthen the human resources, the Government launched National Education Policy 2020 and set up new IITs, IIMs, polytechnic colleges, and medical colleges and increased the number of medical seats.

Rajnath Singh further stated that bold steps such as merger & privatisation of banks and capitalisation of public sector banks have ensured that banks, which were facing losses due to Non-Performing Assets or other reasons, are now in a position to provide loans. "We have developed venture capital funding for start-ups, which is important for their hand-holding at the early stage. The success of the startup-based innovation ecosystem is evident from the fact that the number of Unicorns in the country has crossed 100. We have encouraged retail investors and put an end to insider trading. Use of technology and digital architecture in the trading process is being promoted to make it more transparent," he said.

In order to promote technology, the Defence Minister said, the Government is undertaking reforms in R&D establishments such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). He stated that a link has now been established between academia and the industry so that the research being conducted in colleges/universities reaches the industry and both parties reap the fruits of progress.

Describing start-ups as a major vehicle of innovation, Mr Rajnath Singh said, it is the Government's duty to hand-hold and take them forward. He exuded confidence that the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and its recently launched version – iDEX Prime – will ensure the growth of innovators and start-ups as these initiatives are providing good exposure to them.

Rajnath Singh also spoke of the steps taken to strengthen the institutions and transform them into business facilitators. These include the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code which provides an easy exit to vulnerable businesses so that the trapped assets can be unlocked and deployed afresh for economic growth.

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