Industry should align with India’s developmental goals: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

“The reforms will touch on all the factors of production — be it your land, labour or capital. But I’ll also add up, other than enterprise, which may not fit into the traditional definition of what factors of production are but I will add one more. The 21st century probably comes up with one more factor of production and that is the digital infrastructure. Today no country can move at a pace in which they would want to achieve developmental goals for their own citizens, can do it effectively, without digital infrastructure,” Sitharaman said.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has shown how making investment in creating the digital infrastructure at the bottom, and scaling it up, led to the creation of ‘India Stack’, she said, adding, “other than the traditional factors of production like land, labour, capital and the enterprise, I would put Digital Infrastructure as an important factor, without which we will not be able to scale up and bridge the gap with those who are still aspiring to move forward”.

Stating that the industry aligned with national interests even during British rule, Sitharaman said industry’s role will be critical in moving towards Viksit Bharat.

“Indian industry even during British time has always aligned with national interests and kept growing even against severe odds posed by the imperial colonial ruler. So if Indian industry has always kept that spirit up and against terrible odds kept moving along national interest, I can’t see how they will be left out in this game of building a developed India by 2047. So it should be natural for the Indian industry to align itself with India’s developmental interests. And after all, industry will be the first contributor as much as the first beneficiary if India becomes developed,” she said. “You were with India in its freedom struggle, you built your industry and capacity despite the colonial pressures. It’s time for us to have economic independence with this goal of Viksit Bharat and I am sure industry will play its role,” she added.

Noting that earlier generations saw a time of shortages and lost opportunities, the finance minister said there was a time when in spite of talent revving to contribute to the country, they had to leave the country because of lack of opportunities. “It is our duty to provide the coming generations a better India which gives opportunities,” she said.

Sitharaman said there are some areas in which the government is focussing a lot such as space, Artificial Intelligence (AI) among others. “We have emphasised that India should become a global hub for AI and we will set up centres of excellence for the same,” she said.

Apart from agricultural warehousing, the government is offering support on policy, legislative, investment front and bringing people together for the larger warehousing sector, she said. The FM added India’s logistics potential remains largely untapped and there is immense scope for further development in the sector.