Piyush Goyal bats for local supply chains at Davos

Indian industry should strengthen domestic supply chains by sourcing supplies locally, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said at Davos, Switzerland. Speaking at the ‘Breakfast session Discussion on Trade 4.0’ at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Mr. Goyal said that there is a lot of optimism globally regarding India, despite challenges like the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict.

Mr. Goyal expressed concern over “excessive dependence” on international supply chains and asked businesses to procure locally “whenever there is an opportunity”.

The Minister pointed out several factors like COVID-19, semiconductor chip shortages, the Ukraine crisis and the resultant commodity shock, container shortages and logistics issues, which are affecting business globally for the last two years. However, he praised Indian businesses for showing “great resilience” and achieving $421.8 billion worth of exports despite difficulties.

Mr. Goyal said that every Indian diplomatic mission had been given the responsibility of supporting Indian industry. “Every mission, every office, every official is now ready to stand for Indian businesses and that is what will spearhead Trade 4.0,” he said.

The senior Minister, who is leading the Indian delegation at Davos, said the government is focused on bringing down logistics costs through initiatives such as PM GatiShakti, and better infrastructure for and implementation of projects on time and within budgets.

He assured that the Indian government is committed to enabling India to play a leading role in global trade, and asked investors to invest in India.