NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, AUG 19
India’s national agenda is aimed at driving the economic engagement with the world and seeks to open wider doors for new technology, high-quality products, boosting manufacturing and energy sectors, and sustainability, said Union Minister for Industry and Commerce and Railways here recently.
In a virtual interaction with the members of FINCHAM India at its 10th Members Meeting on August 14, Goyal shared insights on the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and emphasised that the national agenda is aimed at driving India’s economic engagement with the world and seeks to open wider doors for new technology, high-quality products, boosting manufacturing and energy sectors and sustainability.
Goyal said that the government is looking at providing ‘plug and play’ infrastructure, faster clearances, more affordable finance, and lower logistics cost to invite businesses to India.
Addressing the 10th meeting of Finland Chambers of Commerce in Indiahttps://t.co/p3tpNRAFrr
— Piyush Goyal (मोदी का परिवार) (@PiyushGoyal) August 14, 2020
“We would like to be a preferred and trusted trading partner of countries engaged in global trade and countries that believe in transparent and rule-based honest systems of government and I think Finland and India are best suited to work as partners,” he added.
The annual bilateral trade volume between India and Finland is US $2.5 billion and it is “barely the tip of the iceberg” and if both the countries work together, “we can see a quantum jump in our business”.
Replying to a question, he said India has rarely used export restrictions and for exports, import of raw material is allowed freely.
Any import restriction is imposed after a lot of thought and if Indian goods do not get fair and equitable access in other markets, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 74th Independence Day address at Red Fort on August 15, reiterated the need to transition from a supplier of raw materials and importer of finished goods to an importer of raw materials and exporter of value-added goods. He further laid emphasis on shifting the focus from ‘Make in India’ to ‘Make for World’.
India and Finland have always enjoyed warm and long-standing bilateral relations. While India is one of the top 5 trade partners for Finland in South and South-East Asia, Finland’s ranking has been consistently progressing amongst India’s EU trade partners.
At the beginning of the millennium, there were around 30 Finnish companies operating in the country whereas today over 120 Finnish companies have operations in India, and set up manufacturing facilities, service centres, R&D centres, sales, and marketing offices, generating employment for lakhs of local Indians.
Emphasising on assembling in India for the world to boost exports and generate jobs, as the time necessary for the logistical processes of exporting and importing goods has been significantly reduced, Amit Gossain, Chairperson, FINCHAM India, and MD KONE Elevator India stated, “Atmanirbhar Bharat announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India is a significant step and can offer many opportunities for the Finnish enterprises to grow and expand investments in India. The current environment for international trade provides huge opportunities to India to make high-quality products thus creating unparalleled job opportunities in India as well as helping the global economies through these cost-effective world-class products. We are optimistic that the Government of India will bring about necessary policy changes and reforms to advance its vision for a ‘Self-reliant’ Indian economy and offer suitable platforms for stakeholder consultation with industry associations such as FINCHAM India.”
He further added, “India’s impressive progression in the Ease of Doing Business rankings over the past few years is a tremendous achievement, especially for an economy that is as large and complex as India’s.
Finland Ambassador Ritva Koukku-Ronde said, “The importance of trust, predictability and stable business environment as key elements in facilitating sustainable trade & investment cooperation and enhancing economic growth. In this regard, an Investment Protection Treaty between EU and India would be an important element, as is also the need for constant and constructive dialogue bilaterally, between EU and India and within multilateral platforms, especially at the WTO.”
The Ambassador added that “Finland is committed and keen on developing trade & investment and commercial & industry cooperation with India based on mutual interests, shared principles and with view on sustainability and responsibility. Added focus also on technology and innovation, skills, education and science and towards ambitious and binding climate and environment targets, there is an enormous potential for increased Finland-India collaboration.”
Speaking on prospective investments from Finland, Dr. Jukka Holappa, Country Manager, Business Finland, and Honorary Board Member, FINCHAM India stated, “We are keenly following the transforming policy landscape which the government is cultivating to attract foreign investment and are hopeful that India can emerge as an attractive destination for innovative Finnish technology companies across sectors.”
Speaking on the potential areas of collaboration between the two countries, M C Suresh Kumar, Vice-Chairperson, FINCHAM India and MD, Cargotec India Pvt. Ltd. also stated, “Finnish companies can contribute significantly towards India’s vision of achieving self-reliance through their expertise in technology, innovation, IT, renewable energy, clean-tech. Many Finnish companies are in the manufacturing sector thereby holding the
Sanjay Malik, CEO of Nokia, also stated, “While Government of India is working towards ease-of-business, we look forward to this effort being intensified through greater collaboration with the industry. Such an inclusive policy formulation will further attract international and Finnish businesses to grow their investment and innovation footprint in India.”
Highlighting the potential of contribution by Finnish companies towards India’s vision for a self-reliant economy, Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director, Fortum India, and Board Member, FINCHAM India, stated, “The Indian economic eco-system has always had a progressive outlook and planned well for both long and short-term goals by diversifying imports and exports, handholding domestic industries and supporting a greener economy. India’s cooperation with Finnish enterprises has been of long-standing, and their innovative technologies have played a part in building resilience and robustness in the Indian economy. Towards this, we should continue to work together in a diversity of sectors and support the country’s agenda of sustainable progress.”
