Shringla says Atmanirbhar Bharat will make India global supply chain hub at Gujarat Summit

The Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative intends to make India a trustworthy global supply chain hub and push the country to traverse in the direction of reforms and enhancement, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said at the curtain-raiser event for the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2022 (VGGS) on Thursday. Conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, the theme of the 10th edition of the VGGS is 'From Atmanirbhar Gujarat to Atmanirbhar Bharat' i.e. from self-reliant Gujarat to self-reliant India, he added. He also expressed his expectation to see large participation of global leaders and top CEOs at the actual event.

Extending gratitude to the distinguished guests present at the curtain raiser event, FS Shringla declared that "Gujarat and the whole country are not ready for business as never before." Underlining the government's efforts on "importing the ease of doing business," he also noted the significant steps taken to enable the economy to bounce back after the detrimental impact of COVID-19.

"A number of policy measures have been announced in the recent months that will move India in this direction," FS Shringla said, as per the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Taking about the "ambitious structural reforms", he also underscored that the policies have been launched to deregulate and to enhance economic openness, good governance and global competitiveness. "Policy measures such as the Production Linked Incentives scheme have been initiated to attract investments and promote manufacturing in India," FS Shringla added. He also highlighted that the implementation of Goods and Services Tax and other measures of "simplification and consolidation" of taxes have reduced transaction costs and improved ease of doing business.

India is doing "smarter business": FS Shringla

Noting considerable upgradation in India's digital sector, FS Shringla also mentioned that India has been doing business smarter, faster and smoother with the help of online transactions and single point interfaces. "Digital payments, including direct transfer of government benefits, are now under full implementation. India has created one of the largest eco-systems in the world for start-ups and a number of them have come up in the tech domain," he added.

Talking about bolstered efforts towards improving infrastructure, FS Shringla added: "Prime Minister recently launched Gati Shakti – the National Master Plan for Multi-modal Connectivity – which is designed to create a seamlessly connected India. Our National Education Policy has laid the framework for educating a workforce for the 21st century."

In line with PM Modi's ambitious actions against climate change through the 'Panchamrit' at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow held earlier this month, India is becoming a renewable energy powerhouse, beginning an energy transition and moving in the direction of creating a new green economy, FS Shringla said. "India also plans to turn into a global hub for Green Hydrogen production and export under its National Hydrogen Mission," he added.

Shringla concluded his opening address at the VGGS 2022 curtain-raiser by hoping that the 10th edition of the summit will provide an important platform to explore opportunities for trade and investment and exchange of views with global leaders, including CEOs and businesses. He also lauded Gujarat for its speedy response to COVID-19 and overcoming disruptions in economic growth.

Image: @MEAIndia_Twitter