Piyush Goyal was speaking at the 2nd Indo-US Services Summit organised by Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC)
Addressing the ‘2nd Indo-US Services Summit’, organised by Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal observed that India and the US are working towards peace and stability across the world. Goyal said that the services sector holds a lot of promise in aiding economic recovery during the post covid period.
The Minister further said that India is also rapidly progressing to become one of the world’s largest digital markets. Agritech, hospitality, fintech, entertainment, accountancy, law, cybersecurity, healthcare and tourism etc. are some of the areas where India and the US can cooperate with mutual benefits.
Goyal said the services trade will play an important role in the two countries ever-expanding relations. “India & US are two natural partners and our relationship has stood the test of times due to our shared values of equality, liberty and democracy” he added.
Goyal recalled the Y2K challenge two decades back and how the Indian talent helped the US deal with it and how the world started noticing India’s skills, capabilities and commitment like never before. “It changed the perception of India,” he remarked.
The Minister said India is now moving beyond a ‘low-cost service provider’ to a ‘high value add partner’ and added that the back offices in India are evolving into brain offices. Giving examples of the 57 startup unicorns, Goyal said the entrepreneurial spirit of young Indians will place the country at the forefront.
The Minister informed that the total services exports from India to the world was $17 billion in 2001-02 and has now leapfrogged to $205 billion in 2020-21, registering a 12-fold increase.
“When we talk of India-US partnership, we each have areas of strengths where we excel. The US is the hub of innovation, technology, research and quality education. India has skilled and intelligent manpower at a competitive cost. Uniting our strengths will create an unbeatable combination,” Goyal remarked.
Goyal applauded the good work of service industry stakeholders and said that India has met all its service commitments that it had across the world without failure throughout the last 15-16 months. “Our services exports are back to 97 per cent level of the previous year,” he said.
Goyal appreciated the efforts taken by the IACC for choosing such a relevant topic at such crucial times when the world is fighting the Pandemic. “The IACC who has always been at the forefront of strengthening the Indo US relations has initiated this dialogue at a very critical time,” he said.
