Services exports crossed $178 bn in 6 months despite Covid: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS) "While 2021 was a year in which we defied all odds, 2022 will be the breakthrough year which will unlock the country's exponential value. Services Export for Apr-Dec 2021 reached more than $178 bn despite the Covid-19 pandemic when the Travel, Hospitality & Tourism sectors were significantly down. 'India at 100 will be renowned as a start-up nation as we have added 43 unicorns in 45 weeks, and we should aim for at least 75 unicorns in this 75 week period to 75th Anniversary of Independence," said the commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal while releasing the NASSCOM Tech Start-up Report 2022.

Goyal lauded the ITES (Information Technology Enabled Services) industry including the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector for the record Services exports during the last year and informed that the Government has taken several steps to boost the start-up ecosystem, as removing problems of ‘Angel tax', simplification of tax procedure & allowing self-certification and self-regulation, reducing the burden of over 26,500 compliances and decriminalization of 770 compliances.

"The New India is today being led by a new troika of Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship (ITE), which in a way has grown further from the original ICE (Information, Communication & Entertainment) and India's unique digital infrastructure - Aadhaar, Digilocker, Fastag, Cowin, UPI have enabled Access & Affordability. UPI has helped new age technologies in reaching the common man at affordable prices and The next "UPI moment" will be the ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce). The first-of-its-kind globally, ONDC to enable interoperability between eCommerce companies, providing equal opportunity to small & large players, will help control digital monopolies & make industry more inclusive for buyers & sellers alike, empowering MSMEs to unlock innovation & value," added the commerce minister.

He unveiled a five-point plan as the way forward for the NASSCOM as emphasis on basic & core needs of people, providing better access to financial services, education & healthcare; solutions to problems of farmers; Focus on High growth & Job creating sectors, Advertising & Marketing, Professional services, Fitness & Wellness wirh Yoga becoming popular globally, Gaming, Sports, Audio-Visual services; AI, IoT, Big Data, Data Analytics, Blockchain, Virtual Reality, 3D Printing and Drones.