Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has actually required reduction of reliance on importsFinance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has emphasised on the need to become more self reliant and reduce dependence on imported products, particularly necessary commodities, which had actually increased after the Coronavirus pandemic had actually hit supplies.Addressing a summit arranged by market body CII on Wednesday, the finance minister stated that though the country wishes to be linked with international value chains, the threats they position need to be acknowledged.Though screening kits and protective equipments related to the pandemic were imported in the country throughout the preliminary stages of the pandemic, there is a requirement to establish producing infrastructure to minimize dependency in future, the minister noted during her address.On the economy, Ms Sitharaman said that its strength might be determined from the fact that it has actually recuperated greatly after the pandemic.She added that in spite of the pandemic, Indian economy is still amongst the fastest growing economies globally.Auto sales, which is amongst the major indicators of growing economic activities, though are down.
This, Ms Sitharaman attributed to the semiconductor shortage.
Auto sales in India would have also been good if it had actually not been for the semiconductor shortage and shipping container scarcity, she said.The financing minister further noted that infrastructure spending is a key location and all federal government departments are focussed on it.Touching upon the energy sector, the minister stated that there is a need to focus on natural gas as a transitional fuel.
At the exact same time she stated that despite federal government's commitment towards to the usage of natural gas as a transitional fuel, high global crude oil prices present a challenge for India to import more natural gas .