By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 22, 2015: THE Minister of State (Independent Charge), Commerce & Industry, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, in her opening remarks stated that services play an important role in the development of many economies of the world. It is not only service sectors that are large employers in many countries; many services are critical inputs in local production and trade.

The Minister also noted that apart from being a foreign exchange earner, services sector has a critical role in the inclusive growth paradigm of the country – in terms of providing significant employment opportunities. Thus, export of services has a direct bearing in creating more jobs locally and driving the entrepreneurial spirit as well.

Ms Sitharaman said India offers to the world abundant human resources including superior quality of professionals turned out by Indian system, at par with international standards. In this regard, she cited the example of her recent visit to Myanmar where India has been offered all help to set up facilities for healthcare including Indian doctors and medical professionals. She also informed that a similar request has also been received from Kenya.

Recognising the fact that better services improve the competitiveness of manufacturing in international trade via reduced costs the Minister stressed on the role of services in the success of "Make in India" campaign.

The Minister also questioned that when services constitute 57% of our GDP, why should our share in world exports of services remain at a low level 3.24%? She emphasized the need to focus on the service sector and to identify the key barriers faced by different types of services and then to undertake specific reforms.

The Consultative Committee was informed about the steps being taken by the Department of Commerce to promote export of services. Besides constituting an Inter-Ministerial Group and various Sub-Groups on respective service sectors, the Department, beginning in 2013 has also been holding Services Conclave annually. Based on the discussions in the Conclave, the action points were identified and forwarded to the respective Administrative Ministries/Departments for taking follow up action to remove the barriers by making administrative and legislative reforms in the respective sectors.

The Minister then stated that the next logical step is to engage business and governments across the world to promote greater exchange of trade in services between India and rest of the world. With this aim, the Minister informed that the Department of Commerce in association with Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) and CII is organizing the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) from 23 to 25 April, 2015 at ITPO, New Delhi. The main objective of the GES is to create a global platform for increased trade in services and it will be an annual event on the calendar. GES will enhance strategic cooperation and develop synergies to strengthen multilateral relationships between all stakeholders, tap the potential for services’ exports and increase FDI flow in the services sector. More than 40 countries are expected to take part in GES. The sectors of focus include IT & Telecom, Tourism, Media and Entertainment, Healthcare, Logistics, Professional Services, Education, R&D, Space and SME in Services.