India Inc needs to step up to global ‘pricing’: Anant Geete

Union minister Anant Geete on Thursday said that Indian companies should counter the challenge posed by the growing Chinese clout by selling products at globally competitive prices.

“India’s manufacturing sector is in trouble for last many years. In the era of globalisation, competing in international markets has become a challenge for the country’s private as well as state-owned firms,” said Mr Geete at an Assocham conference.

“If we fail to compete globally, we will get isolated. We have to compete with China, which has occupied a dominant place in markets worldwide. We need to accept this challenge.”

The minister said that it is the government’s responsibility to safeguard the interests of the country’s private and public sector firms. “We have to sell products in global markets at competitive prices,” Mr Geete said.

The minister highlighted how the government came to the rescue of domestic steel industry by fixing the minimum import price for steel as China was supplying finished products at the cost at which domestic industry gets raw material.

He said that the Prime Minister under the aegis of the government’s ambitious ‘Make in India,’ program has invited global investors and industrialists to come and set up their manufacturing units here in India.

“But our first priority should be to save our domestic industry including both private and public sector enterprises as they will play the most significant role in development of programs like Make in India,” said Mr Geete.