PIYUSH GOYAL, UNION MINISTER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY, SAYS A FOCUS ON INNOVATION, QUALITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY IS A SURE-SHOT COCKTAIL FOR SUCCESS.

IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERACTION WITH FORTUNE INDIA, GOYAL HOLDS FORTH ON THE PATH TO VIKSIT BHARAT.

- BY SHASHWAT GOENKA

India is now the world's fastest-growing major economy, even in the face of a global slowdown. As you look ahead to Viksit Bharat in 2047, what do you see are the three most critical growth levers that India must prioritise over the next decade?

First of all, it's important that we start adopting technology... With the advent of artificial intelligence, with the shift in global trade, with newer and newer threats coming to the world through cybersecurity, all of these are going to present a huge opportunity for India. We need to adopt that, accept that, and we need to leverage our talent and skill on that. Another area, which, to my mind, is very important for all of India to understand, is quality... anything and everything we do—goods, services, every action of ours should be of a high quality... if we look at hospitality... the sky is the limit... We have very high hospitality standards. Of course, we need to do a lot more skilling and re-skilling and training of our people. But quality always pays off in the long run. Quality is not expensive. It is always cheaper in the long run. And I think this consciousness is coming amongst consumers, amongst Indian industry. [For instance] everyone is vying to get into L&T Construction... It's all about quality, and quality is respected.

And third, we cannot but accept the fact that sustainability is going to be at the core of any development agenda in the long run... we, as a responsible global citizen, would like to be a part of the global effort towards sustainable lifestyles, towards reducing waste or recycling waste and reusing as many things as we can. And my sense is that if we focus ourselves on innovation, quality, and sustainability, it will be a sure-shot cocktail for success.

What is the guiding principle that is shaping India's trade negotiations today, especially as we aim to become a global manufacturing and services hub?