Piyush Goyal appealing to pay MSMEs in advance for their services in order to boost employment

Piyush Goyal, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, encouraged industry bodies on Wednesday to prepay Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises (MSME) in order to ensure their survival and generate employment and growth.

He was virtually communicating with executives of major industry organisations from New Delhi. The conference was organised to get their feedback and suggestions on how to keep the swift recovery of economic activity and strong growth rates going.

The Union Minister praised Indian industry for bouncing back after being devastated by the pandemic and for the tenacity shown in dealing with the disease, particularly in the area of exports.

Despite travel and tourism restrictions, the Minister noted that the development in services exports was truly laudable, and that we should aim for USD 250 billion in services exports. "Indian professionals had demonstrated great success in working from home and therefore the nation had succeeded in meeting every single one of its international commitments, even during the pandemic, earning it the title of being a trusted partner to the world," he said.

Goyal emphasised the progress made in FTA negotiations, saying that the government was working to finalise a number of Early Harvest Agreements so that their benefits could reach the industry as soon as possible. He stated that an FTA with the UAE was nearing completion, that negotiations with Australia were advanced, and that talks with Israel were underway.

He noted that a comprehensive fast track dialogue had been launched to address issues raised by the previous agreement, referring to the reopening of market access negotiations with Korea.

The minister stated that there was an urgent need to upgrade testing facilities and labs in order to increase quality, and he urged Indian industry to help in this respect.

He also requests assistance from the industry in achieving transformative export growth above USD 400 billion.

The Union Minister also advised industry to use a single window for business processes and approvals as much as possible, and sought for recommendations and inputs on how to further decriminalise rules and reduce compliance burdens where possible.

"The industry leaders to be proactive in giving inputs to the government, especially in areas like FTA negotiations. The industry should become more demanding," he added. As a business and growth plan, the minister also requested the industry to invest more and place a stronger emphasis on R&D operations.

He went on to say that, for the most part, the present COVID increase had had no effect on economic activity.