NEW DELHI: There is a need for industry to stabilize the existing production and then venture into the Global markets: Mr. Sanjay Chadha, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India New Delhi, 09th May 2020:

Pandemic COVID-19 has severely hit global trade and investments and disrupted the global supply chains leading to structural shifts in the coming times with more digitization. India is looking forward to recapturing its growth trajectory with the restructured global supply chains with enhanced participation in the world economic system. To understand the challenges and way forward, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, conducted an interactive Webinar on “India's Role in Re-Engineering Supply Chains: Regional and Global Perspectives” with Mr. Sanjay Chadha, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.

Mr. Sanjay Chadha, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India appreciated PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry for organizing the interactive webinar on a topical subject. He said that COVID-19 will be a new normal with new norms of working and we would have to live with it for some time. He mentioned that the tradeoff between containment efforts and ensuring economic activity needs to be balanced. He said that we don’t have a rule book for tackling this pandemic and the Government is working towards mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on economy, trade and industry.

Lockdown has led to a slowdown in the transmission of pandemic COVID19. The COVID-19 crisis has brought home the concept of sanctioned domestic capacity to meet the needs of a mass medical emergency. Some of the US companies couldn’t expand their production as they are dependent on China. This is going to be a new normal which we can call the concept of ‘shoring up’ which is bound to happen. We need to scale up and have a more exportable surplus and the sentiment should not be to abandon China, but to look at China plus many others for Global Supply Chains, said Mr. Sanjay Chadha.

Mr. Sanjay Chadha emphasized that the Government is continuously working towards resolving the issues of trade and industry. But at the same time, we need to understand that industry should change its mindset and the way of working post-COVID-19. There is a need for the industry to stabilize its existing production and then venture into the Global markets. At the investments front, we need to look at global investments which will be an opportunity for India. going forward. Mr. Sanjay Chadha suggested PHD Chamber to provide their recommendations and suggestions on the issues being faced by the industry so that they can be raised to the ministries and resolved at the earliest.