'In The Name Of Globalisation, We Actually Hollowed Out...': Jaishankar On Building 'Brand Bharat'

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said in the name of open economy, other countries were to get an advantageous playing field in India and this has to stop.

Jaishankar was delivering a virtual keynote address at 8th India Idea Conclave in Bengaluru. The event, organised by the India Foundation, is exploring the theme, ‘building Brand Bharat' this year.

“In the name of globalisation, we actually hollowed out the manufacturing. SMEs have been hurting for the last 30 years because they see unfair competition, see subsidised goods coming into the country. If we cannot protect them, they cannot compete,” he said, news agency PTI reported.

Jaishankar said that under PM Modi’s ‘Brand Bharat’, this is being done differently as 'Make in India' has moved from aspiration to an assertion.

“Look at semi conductors industry. We understand today semi conductor will be a make or break for a country like India,” he said.

The minister added that where India is doing things differently is in taking the hard calls were necessary.

One such call is being prudent on foreign direct investments (FDI), said Jaishankar.

“I can tell you, in every FDI negotiation, we think very long, very hard. We are very concerned both about the social fabric and employment consequences of an FDI, as well as its national security implications,” the minister said.

The minister added that the Modi government will never sign an FDI if these concerns are not addressed.

“And I think that is the departure from the past,” he said.

He highlighted the Middle East as a region where India has notably established 'Brand Bharat' under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.

The minister noted that traditional belief is that if a country does well with Israel, it will lose all other players in the region. However, he pointed out that India has proved this conventional wisdom wrong in the last 10 years.

“Today, Brand Bharat is seen as an ambitious brand. We are not just one among many willing to go with the flow. We will take the hard calls, put in resources, and we will stay in touch with the contemporary world... Under PM Modi, that really has been the big change, which is why our brand is different,” said Jaishankar.

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