India’s merchandise exports reach almost $ 390 billion, to cross $ 400 billion during the current fiscal

New Delhi, March 19, 2022

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has said that India’s merchandise exports have reached almost $ 390 billion as of March 14 and will certainly cross $ 400 billion in the current fiscal.

Addressing the Atmanirbhar Excellence Awards and 7th Technology Summit 2022 here Wednesday, Goyal said India’s auto components industry had, for the first time, recorded a trade surplus of $ 600 million.

India’s automotive industry is worth more than $ 100 billion and contributes 8% of the country’s total export and accounts for 2.3% of India's GDP.

The Minister appreciated the resilient auto industry players who adapted and evolved to keep the industry going despite the five Cs, - challenges of COVID-19, container shortages, chip shortages, commodity prices and conflict.

Goyal said the government was sensitive to the auto sector’s concerns related to chips shortage. The recently approved Semicon India Programme with a budget of Rs 76,000 crore would help reduce import dependence and eventually help us become Atmanirbhar in the arena of chips.

Highlighting India’s capabilities in the field of auto components manufacturing, the Minister asked automakers to make greater use of Indian-made components. Stating that the Government held back stringent norms regarding import substitution due to COVID-19 and industry assurances on securing equal market access, he urged automakers to buy local and substitute imports.

Congratulating the automotive sector for managing tech transitions smoothly, he pointed out that India could no longer afford to be closed and protective but will have to open up the markets along with striving to achieve greater penetration of global markets.

Spelling out the opportunities for the future of mobility, Goyal said the mobility of tomorrow would be dependent on the 7 Cs, - Common, Connected, Convenient, Congestion-free, Charged, Clean and Cutting edge.

He gave a 4-point call for action to the auto components industry to be future-ready. He asked them to invest more in R&D, especially e-mobility, especially battery tech. He urged them to disrupt existing targets, set higher benchmarks for performance and aspire to take five Indian companies into the top 50 global automotive suppliers club. He encouraged them to identify core competencies and isolate key areas to reduce import reliance. He also called for designing world-class quality standards in the automotive sector.

Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Goyal said mobility is the next frontier in the fight against climate change. He asserted India was poised at the cusp of an e-mobility revolution in the next 15 years and the mobility landscape is expected to undergo a deep structural change. He asked automakers to look upon sustainability as an opportunity and not a challenge.

He asked the automotive industry to work on improving the e-mobility ecosystem, including fuel cell vehicles with Hydrogen storage, higher Lithium-Ion battery capacity at a low price and better charging infrastructure. He cautioned automakers that the cost of not investing in innovation and evolving to meet the needs of the future would be obsolescence.

Referring to the budgetary push to the EV industry, the Minister said India has the potential to become a hub for EVs and Integrated Circuits (IC) technology. Expressing concern that lower volume of production would prohibit scale of production thus affecting business viability, he called for the promotion of scale of production in e-mobility.

Goyal also presented Dr Pawan K Goenka, Chairman, Steering Committee for Advancing Local Value-Add & Exports (SCALE), Chairman Designate -In Space, Department of Space, and former MD & CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra with the ACMA Lifetime Achievement Award and applauded his tremendous contribution to the Indian automotive industry. He appreciated ACMA and congratulated all the winners of the Atmanirbhar Awards. The event was organized by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) in New Delhi.

NNN