The success of Indian start-ups in IT, e-commerce, hospitality, logistics and others can leverage higher growth and economic ties

Highlighting that India has strengthened cooperation in Covid-19 research and testing, Secretary (CPV and OIA) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Sanjay Bhattacharya on Saturday reiterated India’s commitment to support the word in vaccine availability once the vaccine is approved. He said so in his address held through video conferencing to theIndian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

“Covid has shown that we have to redesign our interactions while accepting that the coronavirus may not be completely eliminated. In the new-Covid era, as there may not be post-Covid era for some time, there will be changes in social interactions, institutional exchanges and individual preferences,” he said.

“We see the preference for social distancing, internet based virtual meetings and tendency to work from home as some of the emerging trends. At the economic level, our new normal will depend on the revival of old business, seeking innovation and complementarities and exploring new business models,” Sanjay Bhattacharya maintained.

Talking about ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and its roadmap, he said this initiative “provides a vision of India’s plans to become a $5 trillion economy by promoting Make in India - Make for World.”

“This will happen through our integration with the global economy. The thrust will be on joint ventures in infrastructure and manufacturing, integrating into supply chains and tapping sovereign wealth funds. Another focus will be on innovation and start-ups, for entrepreneurial collaborations that are future oriented. The success of Indian start-ups in IT, e-commerce, hospitality, logistics and others can leverage higher growth and economic ties,” he added.

He said new emerging technologies, especially in ICT, consultancy, fin-tech, logistics, edu tech, health tech, biotech and others have enormous potential. These will promote efficiencies and leverage future growth and development.

“Further, cooperation on Industrial Revolution 4.0 will stimulate continued growth into the future and keep us abreast of the changes in technology. In some ways, we need to transform a segment of our economic interaction to an "ahead of the curve” partnership focused on technology collaboration, R&D and high capital-intensive projects that drive future oriented growth,” he said.

“High technology cooperation, especially in defence and space has potential to be stepped up. We have cooperation agreements in both sectors with many countries. With the increased participation of the private sector in these areas, the potential for cooperation is much higher. In defence, we can expand equipment and armament export as well as collaborations under Make in India. In space, where we are world leaders, there is potential for training, fabrication and launch of satellites, use of satellite data and others,” the MEA Secretary added.

“Indian business must venture into less-explored markets, which can yield greater dividends. The current focus of Indian business for trade, investment and technology exchanges is with relatively larger economies. While these can be expanded further, there is large untapped potential in other countries and new markets,” the MEA official maintained.

“An important element in this effort will be the need to scale up production capacities, provide timely inputs into supply chains and becoming integrated with global value chains. Similarly, it is important to improve our human capital through upskilling and reskilling. This will facilitate presence in new markets, apart from the traditional ones, and also into new skills, which have emerged due to changes in technology intensity and economic transformations,” he said, adding migration of professionals and workers provides a strong boost to our economy through overseas employment and inward remittances.

He also said that high-level exchanges between India and our growing circle of partners have promoted deeper understanding and cooperation.

“This is an opportune moment for the business community to develop deeper links, based on each other’s national priorities and development plans. Business houses can take advantage of the post-Covid scenario to deepen economic engagement by seizing the opportunity of the changing nature of global supply chains, which seeks greater reliability and transparency. With increased scale of operations, for which many of the new programmes and incentives announced recently can be taken advantage of, Indian corporate sector can make significant progress in global markets,” Sanjay Bhattacharya said.