India must convert global uncertainties into opportunities for faster reforms: Piyush Goyal
New Delhi, May 19
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday called for deeper collaboration between industry and government to advance ease of doing business, enhance India's competitiveness and accelerate the country's journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047.
Addressing ASSOCHAM India Business Reform Summit 2026 here, the minister said the present global situation and geopolitical uncertainties should be viewed as an opportunity for India to strengthen business processes, undertake faster reforms, build greater resilience and strengthen supply chains.
"India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have never allowed a crisis to go to waste and expressed confidence that the country would convert current global risks into opportunities for growth and reform," Goyal noted.
Speaking on the evolving global situation and the West Asia crisis, Goyal said businesses should remain alert to both opportunities and risks without panicking.
"India had successfully overcome unpredictable challenges such as COVID-19," he said while emphasising the need for smarter and more efficient business practices, including reducing waste, improving productivity and adopting energy efficiency measures.
"Lessons learnt during the COVID period had demonstrated the effectiveness of digital engagement and remote working models," he said.
Referring to the rapid growth of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, Goyal said around 1,800 GCCs are operating in the country and generating nearly 2 million direct jobs and around 10 million indirect jobs.
"International companies increasingly recognised India as a trusted partner with youthful and talented manpower capable of supporting global operations," Goyal noted.
The minister expressed confidence in India's services sector and said emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and cyber security would create new opportunities.
"India should look at emerging technologies, business reforms and global developments as opportunities," Goyal emphasised.
"The government is creating an enabling ecosystem for investments in data centres and cloud services through trusted global partnerships, low-cost data availability, renewable energy expansion and robust power infrastructure," he mentioned.
— IANS
Reader Comments
As someone working in a GCC in Bangalore, I can confirm the minister's point about global trust in Indian talent. The scale of operations here is incredible. But we need more investment in skill development — not everyone is ready for AI and cybersecurity jobs yet. Hope the government focuses on that.
'Never let a crisis go to waste' — that's exactly the mindset we need. The GCC growth is impressive but let's not forget the manufacturing sector. We need reforms in land, labour and power to compete with Vietnam and Bangladesh for factory jobs. Services alone won't get us to Viksit Bharat.
Good to hear about data centres and cloud services — that's where the future is. But I hope ease of doing business also means ease of paying taxes. The GST returns still give me nightmares! 😅 Seriously though, reducing compliance burden would help small businesses like my father's a lot.
One small concern — these summits often end in photo ops and press releases. The real test is whether policies change on the ground. The minister is saying the right things but I'd love to see a concrete timeline for reducing red tape in sectors like real estate and pharmaceuticals. We've heard 'ease of doing business' for a decade now.
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