Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said on Saturday that in the name of open economy, we have given opportunity to other countries to gain profits in India and this has to be stopped.
Jaishankar was delivering the keynote address at the eighth India Idea Conclave in Bengaluru through digital medium. This year’s theme of this conference organized by India Foundation is Building Brand India.
He said, “In the name of globalization we have actually hollowed out the manufacturing sector. SMEs have been suffering losses for the last 30 years because they face unfair competition from subsidized goods imported into the country. If we cannot protect MSMEs, they will not be able to compete.
Look at the semiconductor industry, he said. We understand that today semiconductor can play an important role for a country like India. He said India is doing things differently and that way is by taking necessary tough decisions.
Jaishankar said that a prudent attitude should be shown towards foreign direct investment (FDI). The minister said, I want to tell you that in every negotiation on FDI, we deliberate for a very long time, very deeply. We remain deeply concerned about the social fabric and employment aspects of FDI, as well as the national security implications.
