New Delhi: The introduction of PLI scheme is creating a robust manufacturing base in the country which is enabling India to compete on an equal footing globally, said Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal while addressing ‘DPIIT-FICCI Investors Roundtable on PLI for White Goods’ here on Thursday. Goyal said, “India is a big country, and we are not looking for sops. We are not scared of any competition, and this is the message that we need to send out to the rest of the world.”

Goyal further stated that as India enters the next 25 glorious years turning 100 by 2047, we aspire to become a prosperous developed country. “We want to embark on the next 25 years where we would like to see the world look upon India as a driver of economic growth and as an engine of world trade,” he added. He highlighted the potential of this sector in terms of localization, creating jobs and generating surplus for exports.

Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, said that in order to grow fast we need to be export oriented to capture the global market. To achieve this, he emphasized on the need to improve efficiency through scale, improve quality and create a brand name in order to build global champions. He further stated that the government PM Gati Shakti is another game-changer for the industry apart from the PLI scheme.

Speaking on the compliance concerns raised by the industry, Jain stated that in order to provide support to the industry, the government has already launched single window clearance for all approvals. “We have a target to launch the National Single Window Clearance for the country by 31 March 2023. It will have all state government and central departments integrated in the system,” he added.

Subhrakant Panda, Senior Vice President, FICCI and MD, IMFA, said that the importance of an Atmanirbhar Bharat has been recognized, especially in today’s world where there are disruptions in supply chain due to various factors. He highlighted India’s role in catering to the export market as a whole, and assured the industry’s participation in working with the government and other partners in realizing the potential of this sector.

Manish Sharma, Chair, FICCI Electronics and White Goods Manufacturing Committee, Member, SCALE Committee and Chairman and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, said that it is encouraging to see the speed at which policies are introduced by the government and the regular engagement with the industry.

He further added, “Today, we have achieved yet another milestone for PLI in White Goods & LED with 61 investors setting up component manufacturing to strengthen the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The air conditioner (AC) industry has seen significant progress with investments in component manufacturing. Our vision as an industry is to improve local value addition from the current 25 per cent to 75 per cent in the next few years.” /BI/