India needs to cut tariffs: NITI Aayog CEO
NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam has said that tariff does not protect any country and India needs to cut tariffs for its own good, irrespective of who tells India to do so. He further said that being open to the world has to be among the top five priorities of India if it wants to become a developed country. He said to cut tariffs, India must complete trade agreements with the European Union, the United Kingdom and other major economies. He stressed that deregulation at both centre and the state levels are critical for making India a part of the global supply chains. There is interest in India but people visit, see and fly to other countries.
Subrahmanyam pointed that Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and others have been beneficiaries of 'China plus one' strategy of global companies. He argued that global value chain needs more than PLI (production linked incentive) -- it needs deregulation and skilling too. He termed the paperwork involved in business horrendous, which is killing the MSMEs. According to him, the Niti Aayog is trying to push India into global supply chains in different sectors.
He informed that the Aayog's recommendations for the electronics component supply chain are awaiting Cabinet clearance and it is working on the steps needed by auto component, chemicals, textiles and footwear sectors to join global supply chains. He also informed that the Niti Aayog has conceptualised a national manufacturing mission which will be launched in three months. The mission will coordinate with more than 20 ministries on manufacturing related policies. Along with manufacturing, he opined that education and agriculture have to be the top three priorities of the country to become a developed country.
