India has set ambitious target of $400 bn exports for 2021-22: Shringla

Underlining goals of promoting the three Ts - Trade, Tourism and Technology, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday said that India has set an ambitious target of USD 400 billion of exports for the year 2021-22.

The Foreign Secretary made these remarks at the Annual Session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce held in Kolkata titled 'Bharat@75: Empowering India: Today for Tomorrow'.

Referring to the recent interaction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Heads of Indian Missions abroad and with stakeholders in trade and commerce, Shringla said that the PM gave concrete directions on how work can be done to further the goal of promoting the three Ts - Trade, Tourism and Technology.

"An ambitious target of USD 400 billion of exports has been set up for the year 2021-22. The business of Indian diplomacy is, thus, business. We at the Ministry of External Affairs stand ready to help Indian businesses in any way we can," Shringla said.

During his address, Shringla highlighted that the Indian economy has returned to the high growth path and India's GDP grew by over 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2021-22.

Emphasising the recovering of India's economic growth trajectory despite challenging times, the foreign secretary said, "That India would have a role in world affairs little more than an aspiration at the time this Chamber was founded. India was still a subject nation and independence, a distant dream. Independence, the trauma of Partition, and the struggles of emerging nationhood were in the future."

Noting India's key role in world affairs, the foreign secretary said that the post-pandemic economy will differ significantly from the present one.