Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Wednesday said that India’s exports of goods and services are likely to cross $825 billion despite global challenges and that his ministry is meeting shipping industry on Thursday to discuss container shortages, skyrocketing freight rates and ways to reduce the impact of the Red Sea crisis.
At an event organised by the Public Affair Foundation of India, he also said that that there are plans to open offices in different countries including Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, possibly one in New York, Silicon Valley, and one in Zurich as part of the Indian government’s outreach programme to handhold foreign investors.
“As a next step, we are going to send out teams to man offices of Invest India, NICDC (National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation) and possibly ECGC (export credit guarantee corporation), so that I can also start offering services for exporters importers in foreign countries,” he said, adding that this would make it easy to invest and do business in India.
The plan is that through these offices, a person sitting anywhere in the world can buy land in India, can see that piece of land, take all approvals through a single window platform and resolve issues, if any, through video conference, he said.
“Trade, technology, investment and tourism, this would be our outreach,” Goyal said. India’s goods exports declined the steepest in over a year at 9.3% in August and the trade deficit soared to a 10-month high of $29.65 billion. Last year, the goods and services exports were $778 billion.
Russian oil
The minister added that countries are recognising India’s move to buy oil from Russia due to sanctions on countries like Iran, and Venezuela, and it is helping stabilise the world market.
“Otherwise the kind of actions that OPEC is taking, if we were out there in the market with our full demand of 5.4 billion barrels a day, oil would have been at $300 or 400 dollars a barrel by now and would not have come to $72 which we see today. It has been a cooling impact that India’s decision has had,” Goyal said.
Goyal said he is meeting countries like Japan, Singapore and Switzerland to set up units in Indian industrial townships post the recent cabinet nod to 12 such townships.
At an event organised by the Public Affair Foundation of India, he also said that that there are plans to open offices in different countries including Singapore, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, possibly one in New York, Silicon Valley, and one in Zurich as part of the Indian government’s outreach programme to handhold foreign investors.
“As a next step, we are going to send out teams to man offices of Invest India, NICDC (National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation) and possibly ECGC (export credit guarantee corporation), so that I can also start offering services for exporters importers in foreign countries,” he said, adding that this would make it easy to invest and do business in India.
The plan is that through these offices, a person sitting anywhere in the world can buy land in India, can see that piece of land, take all approvals through a single window platform and resolve issues, if any, through video conference, he said.
“Trade, technology, investment and tourism, this would be our outreach,” Goyal said. India’s goods exports declined the steepest in over a year at 9.3% in August and the trade deficit soared to a 10-month high of $29.65 billion. Last year, the goods and services exports were $778 billion.
Russian oil
The minister added that countries are recognising India’s move to buy oil from Russia due to sanctions on countries like Iran, and Venezuela, and it is helping stabilise the world market.
“Otherwise the kind of actions that OPEC is taking, if we were out there in the market with our full demand of 5.4 billion barrels a day, oil would have been at $300 or 400 dollars a barrel by now and would not have come to $72 which we see today. It has been a cooling impact that India’s decision has had,” Goyal said.
Goyal said he is meeting countries like Japan, Singapore and Switzerland to set up units in Indian industrial townships post the recent cabinet nod to 12 such townships.
