India Poised To Achieve Services Export Target Of $1 Trillion By 2030: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday (9 November) said that India is poised to achieve services export target of $1 trillion by 2030.

He was addressing the gathering at the 'Services Export Promotion Ccouncil- Global Services Conclave 2021” in New Delhi today.

The minister said that services are a key driver of India’s economic growth.

He added that services sector provides employment to nearly 2.6 crore people and contributes approximately 40 per cent to India’s total global exports. Goyal said that services trade surplus was $89 billion in FY 2020-21 and it has been the largest FDI recipient (53 per cent of FDI inflows 2000-2021).

Emphasising that service sector is India's competitive advantage, powered by skills, startups and IT solutions, the minister said that today, Indian services have the twin power of universal acceptance and universal attraction.

Lauding India's commitment to enable ‘work from Home’ during the pandemic, Goyal said that while services trade remained depressed in other countries, India’s services sector showed immense resilience .

"Sectors like tourism, hospitality, etc. which suffered due to COVID-19, are showing revival signs," he added, according to a Commerce Ministry statement.

Appreciating the spirit that led to rise through the tough times faced by the sector, Goyal said that tough times don’t last, but tough people do. He expressed his admiration for the selfless service of all frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister said that in 2020, India became the seventh largest services exporter in the world, moving up the ladder by two positions. Services PMI rose to a decade high of 58.4 in October 21, he said.

Emphasizing that India had the potential to become the top services exporter in the world, Goyal said that the sector is boosting India’s transition from an Assembly economy to a Knowledge based economy.

Global sentiments are changing from ‘Why India’ to now “Serve the world from India”, he said.

Observing that India has transformed from being the ‘Back office’ to the ‘Brain office’ of the world, the minister said that Microsoft, Google etc. call India “A home away from home” as they have the biggest offices outside US in India.

Goyal said that today, India’s Services export largely comprise of IT/ITes and stressed that we need to focus on other potential growth sectors. India’s IT (Inherent Talent) will help expand reach of India’s service sector far beyond the IT services, he said.

The minister listed certain crucial sectors which can catapult India’s services sector on a high growth trajectory such as higher education. He spoke of the massive potential for online training courses, language courses, the horizons of which have been further expanded by the New Education Policy.

He observed that students from US, Canada, UAE, South Korea etc. prefer India for heritage, art and culture studies.

The Minister assured that the Government was actively pursuing market access opportunities (FTAs) and working on a scheme alternative to SEIS.

He said that the Government supported service sector through Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package, Collateral-free Automatic Loans for Businesses, including MSMEs.

He said that Rs 56,027 crore was released under various Export Promotion schemes with Rs. 10,002 crore released under SEIS.

The minister said that 12 sectors had been brought under Champion Services Sector Scheme and added that BIS had set up the Services Sector Divisional Council.

The minister also highlighted the need for assisting states in formulating a comprehensive export strategy with districts as Export Hubs.

Goyal said that the government as a facilitator and enabler helped Indian Services to grow and touch lives across the globe. He emphasised that zero government interference has enabled IT sector to excel. He appreciated the sector for not pursing incentives but standing on its competitive strength.

He appreciated the efforts of SEPC for organising the conclave for bringing in mojo to aspire to Charting the way forward, the minister called for introduction of more standards and quality improvement.

We must move up the value chain in services and pick areas where our strength lies and expand on that, he said.

He suggested the replication of the Bengaluru IT model in other parts of India and the establishment of service industries in India like MRO of ships and aircrafts, environment consulting etc. He also said there is a need to expand markets for Legal and Accounting professionals.