Union Minister Piyush Goyal chaired a roundtable in Tokyo, making a strong pitch to Japanese industry leaders for deeper investment in India. He urged firms to leverage India's cost competitiveness, FTAs, and engineering talent for growth.
Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Monday made a strong pitch to Japanese industry leaders to deepen investment in India, chairing a roundtable on capital goods, machinery and the automotive sector in Tokyo.
Goyal's Three Key Asks
Addressing industry representatives, Goyal outlined three key asks for companies looking to expand their India footprint. "I have only three suggestions or asks as I invite you to leverage the cost competitiveness, our FTAs, and our engineering talent," he said, urging firms to deepen localisation to boost cost-competitiveness and strengthen component supply chains to the rest of the world.
Goyal called upon companies to establish more research and development centres, global capability centres, and engineering partnerships with Indian academia, while assuring government support through innovation funding.
The minister's third point referenced the broader strategic partnership between India and Japan, highlighting a commitment of 10 trillion yen in Japanese investment into India over the coming years. He noted this figure was reaffirmed during a recent visit by a top Japanese dignitary, following the target set at the India-Japan Summit 2025. "I think it's time for new factories, new capacities to come up in India and make an India for the world," Goyal said, adding that the government's "Invest India" agency would support investors throughout their journey.
Leveraging Free Trade Agreements
Goyal also highlighted India's expanding network of free trade agreements, noting the country now has preferential market access to economies worth a combined USD 70 trillion in GDP, up sharply from around USD 10 trillion before 2014. He said India has added 38 developed and prosperous countries to its trade network through nine FTAs signed over the past four years, covering a combined USD 60 trillion.
Citing Suzuki's operations in India as an example, Goyal noted the company now exports to more than 100 countries from its Indian manufacturing base, underscoring the potential for other manufacturers to use India as an export hub.
Vision for a Developed India
Looking further ahead, Goyal pointed to India's economic trajectory, describing it as the fastest-growing large economy in the world today, currently valued at USD 4 trillion and targeted to reach USD 30 trillion by 2047 the centenary of India's independence. He noted that on a purchasing power parity basis, the Indian economy already stands at roughly USD 20 trillion.
He described this ambition as part of the "Viksit Bharat 2047" vision, which he said reflects a collective commitment from India's 1.4 billion citizens including industry, farmers, fishermen and workers alongside the government, to building a developed India. (ANI)
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