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India is looking to be more involved in world supply chains and establish itself as the alternative to China through output-incentive plans and the growth of its domestic consumer market, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
Speaking at Peterson Institute for International Economics, Sitharaman said that the production-linked incentive schemes covering 13 manufacturing sectors including for semiconductors “are bringing in global value chains into India.” She expresses her believe of having production of many large, bulk-manufactured goods by doing so. Says’ we can take these products from India” to meet both international and local demand.
India making a renewed push to become a top choice for companies shifting supply chains away from China, last month laid out an ambitious target of hitting $2 trillion annually in overall exports by 2030.
Sitharaman on Monday, cited the example of mobile-phone manufacturing — in 2014, India produced very few devices and the industry had grown to become one of the world’s biggest exporters.
Currently, the Finance Minister is on a weeklong trip to the US to attend the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings.
The Asian Nation shifting from the usual go-slow approach has been pursuing bilateral trade deals with a range of countries, including Australia, the UK and Canada. On Monday, Sitharaman said that India is pushing ahead with a pact with the European Union.
G-20, debt
Holding the G20 presidency, India is under pressure to show that it can forge an agreement after major meetings this year ended with Russia and China objecting to language around the war in Ukraine.
Sitharaman, called it a great opportunity for India to prove and to work towards bringing all countries together on substantive issues.
She goes on to say, “It is time that the members of the G-20 sit up and take these issues on board,” while singling out the need to provide debt relief for more than 70 low-income nations facing a collective $326 billion burden.
More than half of the world’s low-income countries are at high risk of debt distress or already in it, and several have defaulted. Although the G-20 largest economies in 2020 agreed to a plan called the Common Framework to smooth the process of restructuring loans that governments could no longer afford to service or repay, not a single nation has actually gotten relief under it so far.
Sitharaman assured to take this issue forward, and hoped to have some positive movements.
