Government committed for success of Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative: Piyush Goyal

New Delhi [India], September 21 (ANI): Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the government was making efforts for the success of Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and noted that risks of being dependent on other countries were evident during lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Goyal said during a press conference here that there is 10 per cent growth in exports from India in the first 15 days of September compared to the corresponding period last year.
Asked about over 27 per cent reduction in imports from China from April to August and if it was step towards making India self-reliant, Goyal said the government was committed to making Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India a success.
He said the government has rolled out Atmnirbhar Bharat package of Rs 20 lakh crore during the COVID-19 crisis.
"We have witnessed how dangerous it can be to be dependent on other countries during the lockdown in COVID-19. When the lockdown was imposed there was a shortage of PPEs, there was not enough capacity to produce masks and there was a shortage of ventilators but in the three months we not only fulfilled the requirement of our country but started exporting it to other countries as well," he said.
He said freight carried by Indian Railways is also seeing an increase.
"There is 10 per cent growth in exports from India in the first 15 days of September and 13 per cent growth in freight carried by Indian Railways in the first 20 days of September," Goyal said. (ANI)