Indian businesses are in a "cosy comfort zone" created by the presence of a 1.4 billion-person domestic market, and need to find opportunities globally, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.
In comments that come amid concern about the impact of high US tariffs on the Indian economy, Mr Goyal also asked India Inc not to get carried away by any "negative narrative", and reminded them that the country's GDP growth has accelerated to 7.8 per cent.
Even as India braces for the impact of the US' tariff moves, Mr Goyal exuded confidence that the overall exports will grow this year and also pointed out that over $46 billion of the $87 billion exports to the US are unaffected by the tariff moves.
The high growth shown by the official data on Friday did not surprise anybody in the government, Mr Goyal said, adding that the performance is a "resounding response" to naysayers and pessimists like Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, economists and certain sections of the media.
"India is full of resilience, confidence and is raring to continue to be the fastest growing economy for the next 22 years. India will continue to power on. Our exports will continue to grow, we will have higher exports this year than last year, and the future is extremely bright," Mr Goyal told PTI Videos on the sidelines of an event here.
Speaking at the India-UAE Business interaction organised by industry lobby grouping CII here, the minister acknowledged that the domestic market is one of the biggest drivers of growth and also spoke candidly on the industry's role.
"I often feel the large 1.4 billion domestic market has become somewhat a cosy, comfort zone in which our businesses make good profit and don't venture out to look at opportunities around the world," he said.
Mr Goyal said the amount of value addition being done by Indian industry is very low, pointing out how the country is a seller of rice but not rice puffs or ready-to-eat food products, or how it is an iron ore seller but not a high-quality steel exporter.
Citing the case of the fashion industry, where he rued the lack of presence of Indian clothing in high street clothing, Mr Goyal underlined the need to brand India differently.
Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed him to "trust" both businesses and people, he said the government is keen to work with the industry to solve any obstacles and eager to hear from the businesses.
"Ask for help. Give us your support. Don't lose this opportunity. Put pressure on us," he said.
On the US tariff impacts, Mr Goyal said the move by President Donald Trump's administration should not deter India and asked everyone to pull up their socks. The US has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, impacting sectors such as textiles and apparel, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather, and others.
Of the impacted sectors, he said the value addition done by the Indian gems and jewellery sector is a low 3-4 per cent, but acknowledged that we will have to work hard to minimise the impact on textile and shrimp exports.
Mr Goyal said he got on a call with industrialist Noel Tata, who runs the popular Zudio and Westside chains, after the US tariff move and has requested the company to pick up the US tariffs-impacted goods for sale in the local market at a discount till alternative markets are found.
Stating that India always shines in adversity, Mr Goyal listed a slew of trade agreements which the government is negotiating currently with the purpose of diversifying the trade basket, and added that the 7.8 per cent GDP growth should serve as a "morale booster".
'Pessimists'
Citing the alleged expletive used against the Prime Minister in Bihar, Goyal said, "Such persons truly hurt the India story. But I wish Indian industry would not get carried away by this negative narrative.".
Mr Goyal said it is unfortunate that some deride their own motherland and pessimists do not understand simple elementary economics, and reminded them that the export contribution is very low in India, which is primarily a domestically driven economy.
He also affirmed the government's commitment to reform and do all that is necessary to spur growth, and hoped that the decision coming out of the GST Council meet will be a "sane" one that will give a boost to the domestic demand.
"I can promise, you (industry) are all going to be immensely pleased after the GST Council meeting," he added.
Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, the UAE's minister for foreign trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi assured that the Gulf nation and India will always be together irrespective of the changes in the world trade order.
"No matter how the world and the partners are dealing with each other, and they are changing their policies and changing their position against each other, the UAE and India will always be together," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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