Namaskar!
All my cabinet colleagues, finance and economy experts, stakeholders, ladies and gentlemen!
This budget webinar on manufacturing and export is very important from every aspect. As you know, this budget was the first full budget of the third term of our government. The most special thing about this budget was the delivery beyond expectations. There are many sectors where the government took bigger steps than what the experts had expected and you have seen it in the budget. Important decisions have also been taken in the budget regarding manufacturing and export.
Friends,
Today the country is seeing such consistency in the policies of the government for more than a decade. In the last 10 years, India has consistently shown its commitment towards Reforms, Financial Discipline, Transparency and inclusive growth. The assurance of consistency and reforms is such a change that has brought new confidence in our industry. I assure every stakeholder in manufacturing and export that this consistency will remain the same in the years to come. I urge you with all my faith, to move ahead with full confidence and take big steps. We should open new avenues for manufacturing and export for the country. Today every country in the world wants to strengthen its economic partnership with India. Our manufacturing sectors should come forward to take maximum advantage of this partnership.
Friends,
Stable policy and a better business environment are very important for development in any country. That is why a few years ago we brought the Jan Vishwas Act, we tried to reduce compliances, more than 40 thousand compliances were abolished at the central and state level, this promoted the ease of doing business. And our government believes that this exercise should continue consistently. Therefore, we have brought a simplified income tax system, we are working on the Jan Vishwas 2.0 bill. It has also been decided to form a committee to review the regulations of the non-financial sector. Our effort is to make them modern, flexible, people-friendly and trust-based. Industry has a very important role in this exercise. With your experiences, you can identify problems that take a lot of time to resolve. You can give suggestions to make processes simpler. You can guide where we can use technology to get quick and better results.
Friends,
Today, the world is going through a period of political uncertainty. The whole world is looking at India as a growth center. During the COVID crisis, when the global economy slowed down, India accelerated global growth. This did not happen just like that. We pursued the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and accelerated our pace of reforms. Our efforts reduced the impact of COVID on the economy, which helped India become a fast-growing economy. Even today, India remains a growth engine for the global economy. That is, India has proven its resilience in the most difficult situations.
In the last few years, we have seen that when the supply chain gets disturbed, it has its impact on the economy of the entire world. Today, the world needs such a reliable partner from where high-quality products come and the supply is reliable. Our country is capable of doing this. All of you are capable. This is a big chance for us, a huge opportunity. I want that our industry should not look at these expectations of the world as a spectator, we cannot remain as spectators. You have to find your role in this, you have to go ahead and carve out opportunities for yourself. This is much easier today than it was in the old times. Today the country has friendly policies for these opportunities. Today the government stands shoulder to shoulder with the industry. Looking for opportunities in the global supply chain with a strong resolve, objectivity, and accepting the challenge, in this way, if every industry moves forward step-by-step, we can go many miles ahead.
Friends,
Today 14 sectors are getting the benefit of our PLI scheme. More than 750 units have been approved under this scheme. This has led to an investment of more than one and a half lakh crore rupees, production of more than 13 lakh crore rupees and exports worth more than 5 lakh crore rupees. This shows that if our entrepreneurs get opportunity, they can move ahead in every new field. We have decided to launch 2 missions to promote manufacturing and export. We are focusing on better technology and quality products. And we are giving emphasis on skilling to reduce costs. I would like all the stakeholders present here to identify new products that have a global demand and that we can manufacture. Then we should go to those countries with a strategy where there are export possibilities.
Friends,
R&D has an important role in India's manufacturing journey, it needs to be taken forward and accelerated. Through R&D we can focus on innovative products and also add value to the products. The world knows the potential of our toy, footwear and leather industry. We can achieve great success by combining modern technologies with our traditional craft. We can become global champions in these sectors and our exports can increase manifold. This will create lakhs of employment opportunities in these labour-intensive sectors and will promote entrepreneurship. Traditional artisans are getting end to end support through the PM Vishwakarma Yojana. We have to make efforts to connect such artisans with new opportunities. There are many hidden possibilities in these sectors, all of you must come forward to expand them.
Friends,
The backbone of India’s manufacturing, our industrial growth is our MSME sector. In 2020 we took a big decision of revising the definition of MSMEs. This was done after 14 years. This decision of ours has ended the fear of MSMEs that if they move forward, the benefits received from the government will stop. Today, the number of MSMEs in the country has increased to more than 6 crores. This has provided employment opportunities to crores of people. In this budget, we have again expanded the definition of MSMEs, so that our MSMEs get the confidence to keep moving forward. This will create more employment opportunities for the youth. The biggest problem faced by our MSMEs was that they did not get loans easily. 10 years ago, MSMEs got loans worth about Rs 12 lakh crore, which has increased two and a half times to about Rs 30 lakh crore. In this budget, the guarantee cover for MSMEs loans has been doubled to Rs 20 crore. For working capital needs, customised credit cards with a limit of Rs 5 lakh will be given.
Friends,
We provided the facility to get a loan and also created a new type of loan system. People started getting loans without guarantee, which they had never even thought of. In the last 10 years, small industries have also been helped by schemes like Mudra which provide loans without guarantee. Many problems related to loans are also being solved through the Trades portal.
Friends,
Now we have to develop new modes for credit delivery. Our effort should be to ensure that every MSME has access to low cost and timely credit. 5 lakh first-time entrepreneurs from women, SC and ST communities will be given a loan of Rs 2 crore. First-time entrepreneurs not only need credit support, but they also need guidance. I think the industry should make a mentorship programme to help such people.
Friends,
The role of states is very important in increasing investment. State government officials are also present in this webinar. The more the states promote ease of doing business, the greater number of investors will come to them. Your state will benefit the most from this. There should be competition among states as to who can take maximum advantage of this budget. Companies will come to invest in those states which come forward with progressive policies.
Friends,
I am sure that all of you must be seriously considering these topics. We have to decide on actionable solutions from this webinar. Your cooperation is important in preparing policies, schemes and guidelines. This will help in making implementation strategies after the budget. I am sure that your contribution will prove to be very useful. The Amrit that will emerge from the churning of today's day-long discussions will give us the ability to fulfill the dreams that we are carrying. With this expectation, I thank you very much.
