A decade of reforms makes India a trusted global growth partner: Minister Goyal
New Delhi: A decade of reforms under prime minister Narendra Modi has cemented India's position as a trusted global growth partner, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday, citing the Swedish Chamber of Commerce India's Business Climate Survey 2025-26.
In a post on social media platform X, Goyal noted that rising confidence in India's business climate is evident, with most surveyed companies planning to scale up investments in the coming year.
"A large number of the companies surveyed are expecting their turnover to increase over the next year, especially those involved in Construction & Building, Aerospace & Defence, IT & Electronics, and Business Services," he said.
Swedish Chamber of Commerce India is an independent, non-profit organisation, and works to promote Swedish companies in the country.
Goyal added that India has become increasingly central to global sourcing strategies in recent years, driven by cost efficiency, with the survey reaffirming confidence in India's growth story and its emergence as a key hub in global value chains.
To be sure, India's manufacturing output grew at 4.5% to ₹ 29.54 trillion in FY25, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released last week.
A key highlight of the FY25 data is a slight improvement in exports this year, while a reduction in imports helped reduce the shock on account of negative net exports.
Exports grew 6.3% in rupee terms in FY25 from the year-ago period to ₹ 40.68 trillion, while imports contracted by 3.7% annually to ₹ 42.29 trillion.
"The growing confidence in India's business climate also reflects in the majority of companies surveyed, especially those in manufacturing, looking to increase their investment in the coming year," Goyal said.
"The report reconfirms the confidence in India's growth story and also their focus on developing India as a hub in global value chains," he added.
Interestingly, Goyal's remarks come during his three-day official visit to France, part of a five-day tour of France and Italy from 1 June to 5 June, aimed at deepening India's strategic and economic ties with key European partners.
India is actively pursuing a trade agreement with the European Union (EU), aiming to bolster its global economic standing.
India and the EU aim to finalize their free trade agreement by the end of 2025, focusing on market access, digital trade, and innovation.
The EU, India's largest trading partner, accounted for €124 billion in goods and €60 billion in services trade in 2023, with the deal expected to strengthen this partnership further.
The India-UK Free Trade Agreement, finalized on 6 May, marks a key milestone, cutting tariffs on 90% of British imports to India and granting zero duties on 99% of Indian exports to the UK.
It is set to boost bilateral trade by £25.5 billion annually by 2040 and add £4.8 billion to the UK economy each year.
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