Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal today said that ‘India’ means ‘Opportunity’ and added that this is not just India’s decade, it is India’s century. Today he mingled with faculty and students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Sanfrancisco. Shri Goyal noted that India has spent the last few years well in creating a foundation where the country can rapidly transform, grow its economy, improve its systems, engage in technology and learn from the best in the world. The minister also emphasized that India is trying to ensure that every citizen of the country, every child born in the country has the right to a quality life and a bright future.
Referring to India’s exports, which already crossed USD 675 billion last fiscal, he said the country is now aiming to increase international trade to USD 2 trillion by 2030, adding that by the time India celebrates its 100th year of independence , would be a $30 trillion economy. This is the kind of opportunity that India presents to the world. This is not just India’s decade, it is India’s century, he added. Expressing his faith in the Indian youth who are fast turning into entrepreneurs and budding champions, Shri Goyal said that India’s new education policy is giving a spin to liberal education and is looking for deeper collaboration with the best schools in the world.
The Minister said that the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi has formulated his vision and his plans for the future of India based on certain principles of good governance. He gave the example of the LED lighting revolution, explaining that in 2014 the Prime Minister focused on saving energy to ensure sustainability, reduce the burden on our investment in the energy sector and reduce the energy bills of the common man, and launched the LED Lighting Program in 2015.
Shri Goyal felt that the Prime Minister’s decision to withdraw the subsidy for the purchase of very expensive LED lamps was a turning point in India’s push to promote LED lighting. The government then worked intensively with all stakeholders, from importers to distributors to suppliers, and successfully reduced the cost of LED bulbs by 85% in the very first year of the program, partly by bringing economies of scale and partly by effectively addressing some of the issues that suppliers face, he said.
He added that India has successfully used several management principles such as root cause analysis, innovative financing models, economies of scale etc. to ensure the success of the LED lighting programme. It may be noted that India has been able to save around 80 million tonnes of CO2 emissions through this programme. Shri Goyal also added that India, which was once a net importer of LED bulbs, now has several manufacturers of high-quality LED bulbs that are exported worldwide.
Highlighting the massive transformation brought about by a single programme, Shri Goyal said that India is now planning hundreds of such transformation programmes. Talking about India’s success in Fintech, the minister said that almost 40 percent of all digital transactions today take place outside India, with even small retailers accepting digital payments. Speaking of the incredible opportunities that India offers to the world, Shri Goyal invited Stanford students to engage with India and work with over a billion people with great aspirations.
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