A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged India’s private sector to take more risks and make fresh investments, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal tore into industry leaders for failing to help smaller Indian firms, structuring deals to circumvent rules and demanding protection in trade negotiations.
‘Should not be petty’
The government, he said, would protect Indian interests, but businesses shouldn’t be petty and seek easy access for the raw materials they need from abroad, along with protection for their finished goods.
“I want the U.S., U.K. and Canada markets, but don’t let threads, clothes, wines and automobiles come in from abroad. If this is your approach, then industry has no future. Then forget about FTAs and market access, wherever you can sell your product, just manage it,” Mr. Goyal chided industrialists in a session on government-business synergy at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) national conclave.
‘Fix industry synergy’
“Our synergy may happen later, but CII, Assocham, PHD Chambers of Commerce, FICCI should meet and get some synergy of their own. Let us have synergy in Indian domestic industry at least,” the Commerce and Industry Minister said.
And reacting to a request for government measures to help smaller firms hit hard by COVID-19, Mr. Goyal asked the participating CEOs: “Tell me, how many of you are willing to pay your MSME [vendors] on day three of supplies. You have no constraints, unlike them.”
