In an exclusive interview with NDTV on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco on Friday, the commerce and industry minister also spoke about the growing trend of electric vehicles in India and speculation of a tax break for Tesla. He believes that in the next 10 years the country will be the world leader in terms of development in this category.
Although not a part of APEC, India has been invited to this summit for the first time. Goyal also met US President Joe Biden today.
Asked about his earlier statement that India’s relationship with the US had nothing to do with the ‘China + 1’ strategy, Goyal said, “I am confident that India is standing on its own feet. India is an attractive investment destination. It is an attractive destination. Confidence. An attractive partner based on… The respect India is getting from America, its leaders and other countries shows the growing importance of India as a country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi very much.
Flexible supply chain
Is the government keeping a close eye on the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Joe Biden? On this question, Goyal said that India wants the well-being of both countries.
Piyush Goyal said, “As you say, we have no reason to look at that meeting. But more importantly, there is a worldwide recognition that there should be more flexible supply chains. Businesses are concerned about their experiences. They are also very is. Concerned about transparency and opaque business practices. Democracy brings great value.”
He said, “In all those cases, and when you have the cost of doing business overlay, I think India is going to be an important partner in the supply chain… more for their confidence in our capabilities. My India I had. In the US In a conversation with a large semiconductor company that I work with, I was told that they are now almost like an Indian company. They have 15,000 highly qualified, highly paid engineers working in India, working on cutting-edge technology. They do. They have aggressive plans. is. To increase their business in India.”
Tesla’s electric vehicles
A report about Tesla says that the Indian government is considering giving full tax exemption for its assembled electric vehicles for the first five years. The minister did not directly answer the question regarding this. Instead of answering this, he emphasized the adoption of such vehicles in the country, and talked about its future prospects.
Goyal said his visit to the Tesla factory was mainly to meet the team. It has many Indians and will have to increase the Indian component in their supply chain.
“I am extremely happy with their plans to double imports from India. And going forward they are mulling very aggressive plans with leading auto component manufacturers in India. There are many other discussions which are always on the table,” he said. But the current meeting was focused on what we can do to be an important part of their supply chain.”
When asked about Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s proposal for tax exemption in 2021, the minister said the government wants to see a lot of growth in the electric vehicle ecosystem in India.
He said, “We are adopting EVs very fast. About 40 percent of the two-wheelers sold now are electric. There is no barrier to using EVs for commercial vehicles like buses and cabs as they are more economical and environment-friendly.” ..the EV ecosystem in India is poised to grow rapidly. This is probably the fastest growth you will see in electric vehicles in India in the next 10 years.”
Goyal said this will ensure that manufacturers from all over the world want to come to India. He said that the domestic production capacity in the country is also good.
Regarding the tax cuts, he said the government will discuss with all players, local and international, and come up with a solid policy that will support the ecosystem.
Goyal said, “I believe electric vehicles are here to stay. They are good for the environment and help us fight climate change and reduce crude oil imports…Imagine if we could generate $100 billion in the country.” ” Reduce oil imports. .. We will have a trade surplus every year and India will write a unique growth story in history.