India needs a quality revolution to compete in global trade, achieve developed nation status: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal emphasized the importance of global trade and economic expansion for India's growth at the inaugural session of the IMC Bharat Calling Conference on Thursday.

He stated that unless India actively engages in international trade and competition, it cannot achieve developed nation status.

"Unless we look at internationalizing our economy, unless we look at our global engagement, unless we look at international trade in a big way, unless we open our mind and our heart and our businesses to world competition, India cannot become a developed nation," Goyal remarked.

He also warned against India being used as a dumping ground for substandard goods and predatory pricing practices that hurt domestic manufacturers.

Highlighting the importance of supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Goyal said, "We give a little longer rope to the MSME sector, particularly the micro and small. But if we handle each other, support the ecosystem, the larger companies playing a bigger role, we can actually in the next four or five years see a huge quality revolution."

The minister also advocated for the adoption of precast construction methods, citing their efficiency, speed, and environmental benefits.

"I had a small role to play in the LED revolution. LED has not only saved us billions of dollars every year in customer bills, including all your businesses, in terms of lighting, energy consumption falling by 80-90 per cent, and much brighter lighting all over the country," he said.

Reflecting on India's LED revolution, Goyal noted its transformative impact in reducing energy consumption by 80-90%, cutting costs for businesses and households, and improving lighting across the country.

He also stressed the importance of public welfare, skill development, and talent-building initiatives. "And therefore the third pillar was public welfare. You can't have a nation where a large section of people for generations are bogged down in debt, are hoping for a home which remains elusive, from birth to death," he said.