Goyal: India Poised to Drive Global Growth Through Partnerships
Piyush Goyal says India is positioned to power global growth, citing FTAs, infrastructure spending and GST reforms.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said India is positioned to become a leading engine of global growth, pointing to expanding trade ties, manufacturing capacity and international partnerships as the pillars of that ambition.
Addressing the Anand Rathi G 200 Summit 2026 through a video link, Goyal said the country is working towards becoming a developed nation by 2047 on the strength of a three-track agenda: macroeconomic stability, large-scale infrastructure expansion and targeted delivery of social welfare.
"The future belongs to those who forge partnerships," he said, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with building relationships across both the global South and developed economies. He added that international leaders' trust in the Prime Minister's leadership had helped secure consensus on more than 50 tangible outcomes at high-level summits, despite deep global divisions and continuing geopolitical conflict.
On the domestic economy, Goyal said India's entry into the 80th year of independence marks a critical juncture. He noted that the country is already contributing close to one-fifth of global growth, describing it as the fastest-growing large economy, with a young and aspirational population, about one billion internet users and seamless global connectivity.
He said the government is committing Rs 12 lakh crore annually, alongside private investment, to build long-term logistics infrastructure spanning ports, expressways, inland waterways and railways.
Turning to trade, the Minister said India's bilateral and free trade agreements have sharply widened market access for domestic industry. Agreements signed before 2014 covered economies with a combined GDP of about USD 10 trillion today, he said, while the nine FTAs concluded in the last four to four-and-a-half years give preferential access to markets in 38 countries with a combined GDP of USD 60 trillion. Eight ongoing negotiations, he added, are expected to open up another USD 15 trillion in preferential market access.
On ease of doing business, Goyal cited a competitive corporate tax rate of 25 per cent and the first anniversary of the revamped indirect tax regime. He said 300 to 400 major items saw significant GST reductions over the past year, while collections grew 15 per cent.
He also pointed to legal reforms under the Jan Vishwas Act, which has decriminalised more than a thousand commercial misdemeanours, shifting minor lapses without criminal intent from court proceedings and fines to administrative penalties.
On technology, Goyal said the government is adopting artificial intelligence to improve administrative efficiency while focusing on job creation in sectors that are resilient to automation.