New Delhi, Jan 7,2023: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday expressed confidence that the structural reforms taken by the government in the last 8 years will help India emerge among the top three developed economies in the world.

In his address at the 27th edition of Wharton India Economic Forum, held virtually, with the theme of India leading innovation in the age of uncertainty, Goyal, citing the most impactful economic reforms that will pave the way for India’s growth story in coming years, said a lot of structural changes that have taken place in the last eight years have had a significant impact on the way the Indian economy is poised to take off.

Terming GST as one of the important reforms, he highlighted that despite the challenging global scenario, recent GST collections have been very robust. He also noted that India is now a more honest, transparent economy and people are now getting used to paying their taxes.

He said Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is also an important reform measure that has resulted in robust banking systems in India. These banks have been able to provide the resources for industry to grow. He also mentioned reforms such as privatisation, digitisation of the economy, particularly the financial sector, decriminalisation of laws, and simplification of compliances to enable ease of doing business.

Responding to a question of which sectors are strategic priorities for the government, Goyal said that infrastructure, semiconductor, and domestic manufacturing are some of the priority sectors. He also pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus is on building a robust infrastructure in India. Private sector is also contributing in this endeavour.

The Minister said semiconductor is a critical sector for the Indian economy, and so is domestic manufacturing, and the government has introduced PLI schemes to kickstart Indian manufacturing in over 14 sectors.

Sharing his views on the current geopolitical environment in relation to tensions between Russia and the West, Goyal reiterated the Prime Minister’s belief that today’s era must not be an era of war.

On India’s renewed focus in signing free trade agreements in the past five years, the Minister emphasised that India today has emerged out of the shadows of the past, and has recognised that multilateral engagements often lead to economic partnerships which may not be in the best interests of all the stakeholders.