Atmanirbhar Bharat is not a return to import substitution of pre-1991 period: Principal Economic Adviser
Oct 07, 2020
New Delhi [India], October 7 : Principal Economic Adviser to the government, Sanjeev Sanyal on Wednesday said that Atmanirbhar Bharat is not a vision of a return to the import substitution of the pre-1991 period.
"Atmanirbhar Bharat is not a vision of a return to the import substitution of the pre-1991 period. Rather, it would lay the foundation for a New India with a higher economic growth trajectory, simpler rules, resilient supply chains, better technology, entrepreneurial energy to leverage itself into taking new opportunities, among others," Sanyal said while addressing the 115th annual session of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"The post COVID world will be fundamentally different having its own definitions of geopolitical realities, supply chains, consumer behaviour, among others," he added.
Sanyal further said that we all need to embrace the idea of flexibility and adaptability to the new normal to stay relevant in a global context, going forward and to support domestic industry in taking new opportunities.
"The government, at this juncture, recognises the need for a further stimulus in the coming times to refuel consumer demand and further revive the wheels of the Indian economy," he said.
KV Kamath, former chief, the New Development Bank and ICICI Bank, said that there has been a resetting of the mindset during the last few months to lay the foundation of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Kamath added that India has bounced back very quickly and is emerging healthily from the biggest health and economic crisis of COVID-19 that the world has ever seen.
Ridham Desai, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley, India, said that the launch of Atmanirbhar Bharat could not have come at a better time to position ourselves in the global charts. Also, he highlighted that the world now is moving from being bipolar to multipolar leading to greater diversification in production and consumption.
Desai added that the continued reforms agenda of the government would help India to establish itself as a global manufacturing hub and a leading exporter in the world.
